Two years ago, it is fair to say that Joe Marler’s World Cup prospects were slim. By the veteran loosehead’s own admission, there was “not a chance” he would be interested in being part of England’s tilt at the title in France. Two months ago, however, the wheels were put in motion towards a third World Cup campaign and if his place in Steve Borthwick’s preliminary training squad comes as a surprise, his purpose is clear – for England to “shock the world”.
Ultimately, Marler would not be a part of Borthwick’s squad if he did not believe England could go one better than in Japan four years ago. More than that, he needed convincing by Borthwick that if he were to commit to another campaign, he would not just be holding tackle bags in the early part of this summer, acting as squad filler until the head coach had access to all his players.
Marler nearly turned down Borthwick’s invitation to the alignment camp that began his latest reintegration to the England fold. He was close to declining the offer but wanted to see Borthwick to gauge whether he was a realistic contender for the squad. After all, he has not appeared for England since the 2022 Six Nations and has retired from international rugby before, back in 2018.
With injury doubts persisting over Mako Vunipola and Borthwick already seeking to shore up the scrum by recalling Dan Cole, it is easy to see why Marler is in firm contention. He has struggled to commit to England campaigns before – he has not been on tour since the 2019 World Cup – but the environment created by Borthwick, not to mention that meeting after the Six Nations, has convinced Marler he still has a Test future.
“The night before the alignment camp, I was talking to my wife and told her I had to go up to this meeting,” says Marler. “I was flirting with the thought of not going. Actually, I am not sure. Then I thought: ‘Fuck it, I will go and see what he has to say’.
“I said to [Steve]: ‘I needed to come and speak face to face and look you in the eye and see if you’re a liar or not. If there’s a real chance of getting in your 33 or whether you’re just going to use me as cannon fodder. But you’re saying there’s a chance if I work at it, not a guarantee but a chance, then I’m all yours.’ Then he did the longest blink in history, before finally opening his eyes and saying: ‘Joe, there’s a real chance that if you work hard enough you can make it in my 33.’
“I said: ‘If you’re saying there’s a chance, that if I work hard enough that I can, then I’m all yours, mate. You’ve given me a purpose and something to aim for, which is something I need in order to get me up in the morning to actually go: ‘I’m aiming for that now.’”
Marler has fond memories of England’s campaign in 2019 but has been candid about his mental health problems in the past and has struggled with lengthy time away from his family. He ruled himself out of a tour of Australia in 2016 but with this year’s World Cup taking place so close to Marler’s home in the south of England and Borthwick allowing for families to visit regularly, the 33-year-old is as committed as he can be.
“I have to take it on a week by week basis, because my mind changes so quickly,” he says. “It might have been two years ago when I was thinking: ‘Not a chance do I want to go to another World Cup. Not a chance I want to experience the hard pre-season to get in shape for it”.
“But as it’s got a bit closer, I’ve been thinking: ‘Let’s give it a go.’ The highs of 2019 and also the lows of that – imagine if we could go from the low of the 2019 [final] to 2023 and shock the world and lift that trophy. That’s a massive driver for me.”
