England rugby star Joe Marler has sensationally called for New Zealand’s iconic haka to be BANNED ahead of Saturday’s Autumn Nations series clash.
The prop, who has been sidelined with a foot injury since July, has branded the traditional Maori dance ‘ridiculous’ in a post on social media.
Writing on X, he said: “The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.”
Marler, who won’t be involved in the showdown against the All Blacks, then added: “It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.”
England rugby star Joe Marler has sensationally called for New Zealand’s iconic haka to be BANNED ahead of Saturday’s Autumn Nations series clash.
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Under rugby rules, players receiving the challenge are forbidden from crossing the halfway line.
Yet Marler broke that rule in 2019, with the England star crossing the line in the Rugby World Cup semi-final showdown between the two sides.
England were later hit with a fine of £2,000 fine for breaching tournament rules ‘relating to cultural challenges’, with referee Nigel Owens calling for Marler to step back.
Marler later told The Jonathan Ross show that confusion contributed to his decision to overstep the mark.
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He said: “The issue was, Ben [Youngs] drew it up the night before … he got up and he did it on a flipchart and he marked it all out with Xs and Os.
“The issue I had with it is I look at that board and thought, ‘It’s not to scale.’
“I thought we were meant to be closer than what the picture said.
“[I went over the line] which I thought we were all going to do but then I looked back and they weren’t doing it but I thought, ‘I’ve already committed now.'”
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Meanwhile, as Saturday’s clash approaches, England coach Steve Borthwick has denied he’s taking a risk by starting Henry Slade.
Slade has only played 55 minutes for Exeter Chiefs so far this term, having previously undergone soldier surgery.
But Borthwick has no concerns about the England star as they look to put New Zealand to the sword.
“Sladey is a really important player for us,” he said.
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England rugby star Joe Marler believes New Zealand’s iconic haka is ‘ridiculous’
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“He’s an experienced Test match player, now more than ever.
“He’s in fantastic condition. He’s grown as a leader within this team. We’ve spoken a lot about the leadership of this team and he’s grown in a number of different areas as well.
“I think the nature is that when you’ve had the shoulder surgery he’s had, he’s been able to be running on his feet.
“He’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him. He’s in fantastic condition. He feels in great shape. He’s a player who is energised and full of energy. He’ll go really well on Saturday.”
England tackle New Zealand on Saturday
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On his call to drop flanker Sam Underhill, he continued: “I pick the 23 I believe is the right 23.
“So Sam, at the start of the season he had ankle surgery, had two appearances off the bench and one start, and in one of those appearances from the bench he didn’t get too much time because there was a sin-bin situation.
“When you have an ankle surgery you can’t be on your feet and so much of Sam’s game is that constant work-rate, that’s one of the great X-factors in his game, that work-rate that he has, that sharpness he has, particularly in defence.”