“It’s time to spike those big guns,” says England Joe Marler

Joe Marler arrived in South Africa uncapped and untested at the highest level – now he admits the honeymoon is over for both him and England.
The Harlequins loosehead has enjoyed a remarkable rise having added a solid scrummaging ability to the dynamism that was always evident in the loose.
That rise was capped when Marler started all three Tests in South Africa, and in the injury-enforced absence of Alex Corbisiero he will get a second chance to stake his claim for the England No1 shirt this autumn.
And after the disappointment of a lost series in the summer, the 22-year-old admits there will no excuses when England take on the Southern Hemisphere’s big three plus Fiji.
He said: “I haven’t got the excuse of being the uncapped guy in the squad and not knowing what to do.
“The autumn will be tough and another step up with all three Southern Hemisphere sides and Fiji who have some big boys in there as well, so I’ll look forward to that.
“No one can use that excuse of not knowing international rugby anymore because the majority have been capped.
“We’ve had our honeymoon period, we worked really hard in the summer but we were a relatively new squad. We had done pretty well in the Six Nations, worked hard for each other and the culture changed and we did the same in South Africa.
“They outclassed us. Going over there and winning is a hard thing to do but now they come over here so this is our chance to establish ourselves as a better team.
“It was great this summer. I really enjoyed it. It was a great learning experience and a great country.
“I was buzzing to achieve a dream I’ve had for a while. I’m looking to kick on now, there is plenty of competition and there are plenty of England games between now and the next World Cup and I want to play in as many of those as I can.”
Having stepped up to become a first-team regular in Quins’ title-winning campaign, Marler admits South Africa was another level.
He revealed that the second Test played in Ellis Park in Johannesburg at 1,700m above sea level was the biggest challenge he had faced in his career to date.
He added: “Playing at altitude was probably the biggest learning curve. It was brutal, in the second Test when they just came after us in the first 20 minutes it was like being hit by a train.
“The set-piece was tough, they are a world-class front row with the Beast [Tendai Mtawarira] and the Du Plessis brothers, that was a great learning experience.
“We get the odd chance to go up against top-class tightheads and front rows in the Premiership, Dan Cole, Martin Castrogiovanni and those sorts of guys. But on the international stage it was a massive step-up and I enjoyed it.
“I’m still relatively fresh, I’ve only got three caps so I can’t be piping up left, right and centre. But I’m more comfortable. It’s a good environ- ment. Not necessarily a comfortable environment but an open one where everyone can be themselves and enjoy being there.
“I won’t be putting my head above the parapet too much. Everyone is an individual and they need to be allowed to express themselves.
“The coaches were pretty disappointed not to get a win over there, particularly the drawn third Test. But there were some massive positives to take from it all.
“Being a relatively new squad, to take those experiences as an individual and a team we have to look forward to the autumn and bringing them back to Twickenham and getting the fans behind us and get some wins.”
PAUL EDDISON