Gareth Thomas forced to apologise over Joe Marler comment - Ruck

Gareth Thomas forced to apologise over Joe Marler comment

England rugby star Joe Marler grabbed Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones by the balls, prompting Gareth Thomas to crack a brilliant joke.

In hilarious footage English prop Marler can clearly be seen to grab the crotch of Wales legend Jones as the two sides faced off at Twickenham in the Six Nations.

ITV talked about the incident at half-time and Welsh pundit Gareth Thomas – who came out publicly in 2009 – had his say on Marler’s antics.

Thomas – a former Wales captain – said: “It would’ve never have happened in my day and I’m really upset about that – because if it had I would have never retired!”

However, some fans didn’t find it funny and the Wales legend was forced to take to Twitter to apologise for the comment.

He wrote: “To the VERY small minority of people who were offended by my comment yesterday I apologise.

“I tried to find humour in a situation-that doesn’t mean I condone it, it means I wanted it to not be an issue.

“So don’t change the narrative to justify how you feel.”


Eight Inspiring Gay Rugby Players and Personalities

1. Nigel Owens

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There’s only one place to start.

In May 2007, Owens publicly came out as gay in an interview with Wales on Sunday. Reaction was mostly supportive. Owens said that coming out was a difficult decision, and that he had contemplated suicide when he was 26.

Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Owens was named ‘Gay Sports Personality of the Year’ at gay rights group Stonewall’s awards ceremony in London.

He has since gone on to referee the Rugby World Cup final in 2015 before becoming the most capped official in Test history.


2. Keegan Hirst


In 2015 he became the first British professional rugby league player to come out as gay.

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