England rugby star Joe Marler has apologised for his controversial comments relating to the haka.
The 34-year-old had hit the headlines this week after he called for the ceremonial dance – which he labelled as ‘ridiculous’ – to be ‘binned’ ahead of England’s clash against New Zealand on Saturday.
This infuriated the public and several politicians in New Zealand, with Marler’s ‘lack of appreciation for tradition’ slammed, while another figure accused him of having a low IQ.
Marler, who is currently absent from England’s squad for personal reasons, subsequently deleted his X account, before resurfacing on the platform hours later, although he refused to apologise.
However, on Thursday evening, Marler rowed back on these comments and expressed his regret.
England star Joe Marler has apologised for his controversial comments relating to the haka
The 34-year-old had hit the headlines after he claimed the ‘ridiculous’ haka ‘needs binning’
Marler’s comments about the ceremonial dance were slammed back in New Zealand
‘Hey rugby fans,’ he posted on X. ‘Just wanted to jump on here and say sorry to any New Zealand fans I upset with my poorly articulated tweet earlier in the week.
‘I meant no malice in asking for it (the haka) to be binned, just want to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction.
‘How good were the Cockerill/Hewitt, Campese, France ‘07, Tokyo ‘19 or Samoa vs England rugby league responses? Create some entertaining drama before kick off. My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was s***house and I should have done better at explaining things.
‘I’m grateful for the education received on how important the Haka is to the New Zealand culture and hope others have a better understanding too. Now roll on 3pm on Saturday for a mega rugby occasion. England (to win) by 6pts. I’ll get back in my attention seeking box now. Big Love x.’
Marler’s original post had said: ‘The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.’
After that initial comment, he clarified its meaning, saying: ‘It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.’
It appeared that Marler had deleted his X account on Wednesday some hours after the posts but he soon resurfaced, writing: ‘Context is everything. Just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture. Some wild responses.’
He then added: ‘Also needed to satisfy my narcissism.’
His criticism of the pre-match ritual had sparked fury in New Zealand, with Maori cultural advisor Dr Karaitiana Taiuru telling Kiwi news outlet Stuff: ‘Calling for it to be binned with no reasoning shows a lack of appreciation for traditions which is a contradiction for any rugby player, cultural appreciation and lack of open mindedness.’
Meanwhile, Minister for Regulation and leader of the ACT party, David Seymour aimed a savage dig at the 34-year-old.
‘In my experience I have met a few props with very high IQ, but very few of them,’ he said. ‘So it could be something in that area.’
Marler’s comments have heightened the pre-match tensions surrounding the game, but England skipper Jamie George attempted to lighten the mood on Thursday.
Marler responded after the wave of criticism and appeared to walk back from the earlier claim
The 34-year-old is not with England’s squad for the New Zealand clash due to personal reasons
But on Thursday, Marler finally apologised for his comments, which he labelled as ‘s***house’
‘Thank you Joe Marler!,’ he joked. ‘We’ve chatted a little bit this week and I just said, “Cheers mate, thanks very much!”.
‘To be honest, it’s classic Joe. He’s always been a little bit close to the line, I suppose, with certain social media posts. So, nothing comes as a surprise with Joe.
‘It’s not unhelpful. It’s a conversation that Joe and I actually had had the week before; thoughts on it, what can we do back to it, all that kind of thing. I guess he’s sort of prodded the bear a bit.’
George was effusive in his praise for the spectacle created by the All Blacks’ familiar ritual before kick-off, having faced it many times in his career. ‘I love it,’ he said. ‘I love the history of it.’
That was the buzz-word from the All Blacks camp too, as head coach Scott Robertson reacted to Marler’s comments.
‘I know Joe,’ he said. ‘I wonder if he wishes he could have articulated himself a little bit better on that.
‘The Haka for us, it’s a custom, it’s part of who we are, it’s our DNA. It’s for occasions, for joy, for connection, and also for challenge, and we use it as a challenge.
‘And we believe it’s a great tradition of rugby, as all Pacific nations do beforehand, just to honour where they’ve come from. So it’s not just about the All Blacks, it’s about us as a country, so it means a lot to us.’
Players receiving the challenge are banned from crossing the halfway line, as per World Rugby rules. But Marler contravened that in 2019, crossing the line in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Referee Nigel Owens told him to move back and England were later hit with a £2,000 fine for breaching tournament rules ‘relating to cultural challenges’.
World Rugby rules ban players from crossing the line – something Marler did in 2019
Marler subsequently told the Jonathan Ross Show that England had been confused over how they were meant to line up before that match, which they won 19-7 before being trounced by South Africa in the final.
‘The issue was, Ben [Youngs] drew it up the night before … he got up and he did it on a flipchart and he marked it all out with Xs and Os,’ Marler said.
‘The issue I had with it is I look at that board and thought, “It’s not to scale.” I thought we were meant to be closer than what the picture said.
‘[I went over the line] which I thought we were all going to do but then I looked back and they weren’t doing it but I thought, “I’ve already committed now.”‘
