Joe Marler has announced his retirement from the England rugby team just days after he faced a backlash over ‘ill-judged’ comments about the haka.
Ahead of England’s 22-24 defeat to New Zealand at Twickenham, Marler, who has been capped 95 times and has won three Six Nations titles, said that their traditional Māori haka dance was ‘ridiculous’ and called for it to be binned.
New Zealand’s rugby haka was first performed by The Natives – their first representative team – during a 1888-89 tour of Britain and Australia. It is performed by the All Blacks team before each international rugby game.
Marler’s remarks saw him face a wave of criticism, with some in the Māori community calling out the 34-year-old prop for ignorance. He issued a grovelling apology in response but has now decided to call time on his international career.
‘Playing for England always felt like I was living in a dream bubble,’ Marler wrote on Instagram. ‘I kept waiting for it to pop and me to suddenly go back to being a gobby, overweight 16-year-old again.
‘But you know when it’s time. I can’t do what I used to do as well as I once could. I can’t keep talking about my family being my priority unless they actually are.
‘I want to keep untarnished all these memories of my career, both good and bad. I don’t want to leave my house with my kids crying. I’m ready to make the change.
‘I’m sad to say goodbye to international rugby, but I’m really proud, too. Time to exit one dream bubble, time to enter a new one.’
Marler appeared to delete his social media account on X amid the haka backlash before making a swift return to clarify that he was only trying to have ‘fun’.
‘Context is everything,’ Marler posted. ‘Just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture. ‘Some wild responses. Big Love… Also needed to satisfy my narcissism.’
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira CEO Helmut Modlik slammed Marler for his comments about the haka earlier this week.
‘For those who don’t know about the haka, who might speak ill of those cultural icons, it would be coming from a place of ignorance and would be ill-judged,’ Modlik told Stuff.
‘Remember, while it is part of a sporting spectacle, the haka is a cultural taonga, treasure, gifted to NZRU to perform respectfully, which they do now.’