I was never captaincy material but honoured to do it – Joe Marler
Named in Eddie Jones’ 33-man squad for the Six Nations, Quins prop Marler reports for duty tonight determined to put a dismal 2015 behind him as he looks to turn up the heat on loosehead rivals Mako Vunipola and Matt Mullan.
The 25-year-old has bounced back brilliantly from 18 months of bitter disappointment, playing a full part in a Quins revival that has taken them into the Premiership top four and earned him a new contract.
Marler harbours regrets, though, telling The Rugby Paper: “I was never a captain and never will be. You have natural leaders and natural captains and you have guys who work at it and end up being good, but I’m neither.
“I think I probably knew that before I took on the role but at the time it was a case of, ‘hang on’. I was honoured to captain my childhood club and become part of its history in that sense, but I wasn’t any good at it.
“Having said that, I think last year was a good thing for us as a team because it was an eye-opener. I’ll look back at it as a crap year, but it gave us a season of reality and helped us make the improvements we needed.
“Some big names have come in and added world-class ability such as James Horwill and Jamie Roberts, while there have been other less high profile arrivals like Matt Luamanu who’ll start scaring opponents.
“We’re a good group at Quins and we’ve started this season a lot better than last – mainly probably due to a change of captaincy!”
Marler “wallowed” after England’s World Cup demise, but is back in form and relishing the chance of adding to his 37 caps.
He said: “I had no expectation of getting back in that squad so when I got the call I was very grateful. I’ve been given an opportunity to push two other in-form guys in Mako and Matt as hard as I can to wear that No.1 shirt.
“I was gutted after the World Cup because you build something up in your own head for most of your career, and then for it to end as badly as it did, both personally and as a team, was very hard to take for us all.
“It took me a while to wallow and realise, actually, you can either front up or clear off. You don’t have a choice. I’ve got nothing else to do unless I go back turfing, so I never thought about chucking the game in.”
Marler is one of six Quins named in England’s squad, with expectancy levels rising over the inclusion of back-rower Jack Clifford. Clifford, who captained England U20s to an historic first Junior World Cup success in 2013, is being touted in some quarters as a future skipper.
But Marler, given his own recent experience, cautioned: “Jack’s a very good player with huge potential and he’s earmarked as a future leader, but I hate that, let’s give him a chance to establish himself first.
“There’s sometimes too much expectation on young shoulders too early, so that needs calming down a bit, but he’s got the capabilities to do that and he’s grounded enough to know that he’s still got to work his nuts off to keep improving.”
Marler’s decision to remain at Harlequins flew in the face of speculation linking him with other clubs, but he said: “I need to make a huge improvement in my consistency and Quins is a great environment to learn and improve my game.
“Why did I choose to stay? I’m a loyal man and I owe a lot of my personal success to the club and the team I play with. It was the right thing to do to help repay that debt and I’m ready for the challenges ahead, with both Quins and England.”
In the meantime, Marler is learning at the shoulder of Wales and Lions great Adam Jones, adding: “Adam’s fantastic to have around, not just to learn off but to talk about his past experiences. He’s also a very secure scrummager.”
So, does a Lions tour of New Zealand in 2017 appeal? “Nowhere near my radar,” Marler said. “It’s week-by-week at the moment and I’ve got a long way to go yet before I reach that level.”
And Marler knows where to look should he require further inspiration – Henry Fraser, brother of Saracens flanker Will, who was paralysed in a holiday accident in 2009.
“Henry’s incredible,” Marler said. “Thousands in his position have just given up, but he hasn’t.
“He said he’d make something of his life and his happy-go-lucky personality means nothing fazes him.
“The talks he gives, the videos and his mouth art, are an inspiration.
“For anyone with problems or challenges in life, however big or small, you just look at him and go, ‘bloody hell, if he can do it, I can do it’.”
NEALE HARVEY
