Joseph William George Marler (born 7 July 1990) is an English former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

club Harlequins. He played for the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

until his retirement in November 2024.

Early life

Marler was educated at Maynards Green Primary School and

Heathfield Community College Heathfield Community College is a secondary school near the market town of Heathfield, East Sussex, England. School Enrollment The college draws its students from a large geographical area. There are currently over 1200 students on roll, with ...

and began playing at the age of 11 for Eastbourne Sharks. His stepping stones in the game not only include playing for Sussex Under 14-18 but also representing London & South East in 2006. Marler started his career at

Haywards Heath RFC Haywards Heath Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team. The first XV currently plays in Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex, the tenth tier of English rugby union competition. The club also has a number of other teams, with their 2nd XV curre ...

in Sussex where he played in the same side as fellow England international

Billy Twelvetrees William Wesley Twelvetrees (born 15 November 1988) is a rugby union footballer who plays centre or fly-half for Worcester Warriors. He formerly played as inside centre for the England national team. Whilst playing for the Leicester Tigers, Twe ...

Club career

Marler joined the Harlequins Academy in 2008 and made his first team debut in the 2009-2010 season, after spending some time on loan to

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

and

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

. Marler has described his time in the lower tiers as a necessary learning curve that has allowed him to experience all the tricks of the trade at prop. He particularly points to the technical advice he received from one Bobby Walsh, a former coach, on scrummaging. The knowledge gained at this level has allowed him to occasionally cover the tighthead side of the scrum. In May 2011 Marler started for the Harlequins side that defeated

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

in the final of the

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

. The following season saw Marler play a crucial part in helping Harlequins claim their first ever League title by starting in the 2011–12 Premiership final victory over

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

. Marler captained Harlequins for the 2014-2015 season, replacing

Chris Robshaw Chris Robshaw (born 4 June 1986) is an English former rugby union player. He was the captain of the England national rugby union team from January 2012 until December 2015. Robshaw's position of choice was in the back row of the scrum, usually ...

due to his commitments as

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

captain in the 2015 World Cup year. Marler then passed on the captaincy of Harlequins to teammate

Danny Care Daniel Stuart Care (born 2 January 1987) is an English professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team. Early life Care was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire. He ...

in the following season. In January 2016 it was announced that Marler had signed a new contract to stay at the club and later that year he started for the Harlequins side that were defeated by

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

in the final of the

. On 26 June 2021 Marler won his second league title starting for the Harlequins side that defeated

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever. He announced his retirement from the club on 27 November 2024. His final game for the club was at

The Stoop Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a stadium located in south-west London, England, situated just across the road from Twickenham Stadium. The stadium is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a ...

against

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

. During the game, he asked the referee

Luke Pearce Luke Pearce (born 13 November 1987) is an English rugby union referee representing the Rugby Football Union. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership and has refereed games at European level and at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Refereei ...

whether he would receive a yellow card for removing his shirt to which Pearce replied 'not tonight for you'. He was replaced for the final time by England international

Fin Baxter Fin Baxter (born 12 February 2002) is an English professional rugby union player who plays for Premiership club Harlequins. His main position is loosehead prop but he can also play tighthead prop. Early life Baxter was born in London Boroug ...

in the second half.

International career

England

In 2008 Marler was captain for England at U18s level. He represented

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s) or England Men's Elite Squad, represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the gov ...

in the

2009 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2009 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held between February and March 2009. France won the tournament but no team won the Grand Slam or Triple Crown. Final Table Results Round one Round two Round three ...

and was a member of the squad that finished runners up to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at the

2009 IRB Junior World Championship The 2009 IRB Junior World Championship (known as the 2009 IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaces the now de ...

. The following year saw him score two tries in a game against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in the 2010 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. He also scored a try in a defeat against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

as England finished fourth at the

2010 IRB Junior World Championship The 2010 IRB Junior World Championship was the third annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...

. He was called into the senior England squad for the 2010 end of year tests as injury cover for David Wilson. In January 2011 Marler started for England A against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Marler was selected for the 2012 summer tour of South Africa and on 9 June 2012 made his senior debut starting in the opening test defeat to the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

. Marler was selected for the 2013 series against Argentina and then became a regular member of the squad. Coach Stuart Lancaster included Marler in his squad for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

and he started for the hosts in the pool stage as they failed to reach the knockout phase. New head coach Eddie Jones included Marler in his squad for the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It ...

and he came off the bench in the concluding game of the tournament as England defeated

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to achieve their first

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in over a decade. The following year saw Marler given the honour of leading the team out on his 50th cap against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the penultimate round of the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

. He also started in the last round of the tournament defeat away to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

which ensured England failed to complete consecutive grand slams and also brought an end to a record equalling eighteen successive

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

victories. In September 2018 Marler announced his retirement from international rugby but later reversed his decision, re-joining the England squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

. Marler came off the bench for the semi-final victory over

and was a second half replacement for

Mako Vunipola Mako Vunipola (born 14 January 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a loosehead prop for French club Vannes in the Top 14 He previously played for the England national team. Born in New Zealand to Tongan parents, he qualifi ...

in the final as England were defeated by

to finish runners up. In March 2020, Marler was banned from playing for 10-weeks after he grabbed

Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps f ...

' genitals during a Six Nations match against

. As a result of the coronavirus lockdown, the ban ended without Marler missing any matches since every fixture that Marler could have played was postponed. In December 2020 Marler was a second-half substitute for

Ellis Genge Ellis Genge (born 16 February 1995) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears and the England national team. Before moving to Leicester Tigers, Genge had a brief professional ca ...

as England defeated

in the final of the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

. In September 2023, Marler returned to the England squad to play in the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

, his third World Cup with the senior side. In England's opening game vs

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, he replaced Ellis Genge in the 54th minute. He played in all Group matches, the Quarter Final win against Fiji and the Semi Final loss to South Africa. He did not play in the Bronze Medal match against Argentina. Marler attracted attention in October 2024 after

tweeting A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around 8 ...

that "the

Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

needs binning", calling the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

' pre-match ritual "ridiculous." His comments were widely criticised, including by New Zealand coach Scott Robertson, with academic Karaitiana Taiuru saying that Marler "lacked cultural appreciation." Marler later apologised for his "poorly articulated" words, saying that he "meant no malice in asking for it to be binned, just want to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction." He announced his retirement from the team on 3 November 2024.

British & Irish Lions

On 19 April 2017, Marler was one of 41 players selected for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

' tour to New Zealand in June and July of that year. He made five appearances in the tour games but did not feature in the Test series against

Barbarians

Marler was recruited into the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

squad in 2019, making his only appearance for the team against England on 2 June alongside team mate

James Horwill James Horwill (born 29 May 1985) is an Australians, Australian former rugby union player, who has played for the Australian national rugby union team, Australian national side, with 61 caps to his name. He captained the Wallabies a number of tim ...

who captained the team. Marler returned to play for England again, 4 months later at the

. Marler was recruited again to the squad in 2022, after missing out on a call up to England's 2022 Autumn nations series fixtures alongside fellow England international Zach Mercer. The squad was coached by Super Rugby champions' coach Scott Robertson and Heineken Cup winning coach

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

. The team faced the

All Blacks XV The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...

on 13 November, with Marler also facing the Barbarians 5 days later with his club side Harlequins.

Disciplinary issues

In April 2016 Marler received a two match ban and £20,000 fine (to be donated to a suitable equality charity) for using unsporting and discriminatory language towards

Samson Lee Samson Lee (born 30 November 1992) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player. Lee played for the Scarlets, as well as local teams Llanelli and Ammanford. His position is prop forward. Lee has represented Wales, making his debut against A ...

during the England versus Wales Six Nations match held on 12 March. In March 2020, he received a ten week match ban for grabbing Alun Wyn Jones’s genitals during the England versus Wales Six Nations match held on March 7th 2020. In December 2022, Marler received a 6 week ban (four of them suspended) for conduct prejudicial to the game involving insulting language used in an incident with Bristol Bears flanker

Jake Heenan Jake Heenan (born 17 March 1992) is a rugby union player from New Zealand. He plays primarily as an openside flanker. Heenan currently plays for English side Bristol. He played for Connacht from 2013 to 2018, winning a Pro12 title with the si ...

Other ventures

In 2020, Marler wrote a book about his life: ''Loose Head, Confessions of an (un)professional rugby player'', published by

Ebury Press Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Centu ...

. He also hosts the

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

"Joe Marler's Things People Do" previously known as "The Joe Marler Show.". Marler has appeared as a celebrity panellist on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

gameshow '' The Wheel'' in November 2021 and the 2023 Christmas special. Marler featured in a 2022 advert for

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

brand

Durex Durex is a British brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by Reckitt, Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured betwee ...

and operated an

OnlyFans OnlyFans is an Internet content subscription service based in London, England. The service is widely known for being popular with sex workers who produce pornography, and also hosts other content creators including athletes, musicians, and com ...

account, where subscribers would be able to purchase pictures of his

feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...

Personal life

Marler is married to Daisy Marler. The couple have four children Pixie, Maggie, Felix, and Jasper. Marler has been open that he often struggles with his

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

. This was the subject of a 2021

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Big Boys Don't Cry'', which was aired to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.

Honours

; England * 3×

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* 1×

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

; Harlequins * 2×

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

* 1×

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* 1×

runner-up:

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Harlequins Profile

RFU Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marler, Joe 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Eastbourne Rugby union players from Eastbourne English rugby union players England international rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Rugby union props 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players OnlyFans creators