Joe Marler believes fellow props Kyle Sinckler and Tadhg Furlong are “taking front-row play to another level”.
The pair are due to clash on Saturday when England host Ireland in the Six Nations, and Marler has described how impressed he has been with the duo ahead of the showdown at Twickenham.
Both players have established themselves as two of the best props in the world, particularly due to their play in the loose.
Marler has praised their work and believes that Furlong and Sinckler are shifting the perception of what is expected from a prop.
“In terms of the stuff on the pitch, he is world class,” said Marler, when asked about Furlong. “I think he has actually stepped up his game around the field, particularly in an attack even more so this season.
“You have seen in this tournament that he is standing more at second and third receiver off the 10, so they are doing a lot of playmaking through him and he is just so comfortable on the ball.
“I try and think of it sometimes as a fan and you go, well, look at that massive lump on the field that you just think is going to bend over and push.
“But then he is also so comfortable on the ball, his work rate, and it’s really good to see as a fan that he is, not ahead of the game, but the likes of him and Kyle Sinckler are just taking front-row play to another level.”
England were in training on Tuesday and Marler described the session as “tasty” ahead of Saturday’s match against Ireland.
The game at Twickenham is vital to the two sides’ Six Nations hopes and former Ireland boss Eddie O’Sullivan has predicted it’ll be a “bar room brawl”.
“I am trying to think of the last bar room brawl I was in... Is it going to be like that?” pondered Marler. “It is going to be tasty.
“They are very, very aggressive at the breakdown. They love chucking numbers in there. I think off the top of my head you get 40 plus attempts at attacking our breakdown from Ireland.
“It is going to be a ding dong. Did you say that was Eddie O’Sullivan who said that? It is probably a fair assumption. I quite like that. A nice clean bar brawl though, none of the dirty stuff. No gouging or glass throwing. Just the clean stuff.”
