England prop Joe Marler has revealed he 'doesn't have long left' in the game following his latest ban.
The 32-year-old made an offensive comment about Bristol flanker Jake Heenan's mother, which led to his six-week ban.
Marler accepted the charge at a disciplinary hearing last week, with four weeks of his ban suspended.
In the written judgement, Heenan said he "lost his head" after hearing Marler make the comment twice and when referee Karl Dickson did not intervene.
"I'm really sorry to Jake Heenan and his family, the guy I insulted or tried to insult, and also to my team-mates and to the club, because they must really now be at a point where they're like 'here we go again'," Marler said on The Joe Marler Show.
"At what point do you go, 'yeah, you can say sorry, mate, but just stop f****** doing it?' I guess this is the point, is it?
"We always have a choice, don't we? We have a choice whether you can actually use this for good, regardless of what the RFU have done in terms of banning or setting an example.
"It's about what can I do to make this be useful and good for me moving forward.
"And I guess it is a realisation that I haven't got long actually being able to play the game left. So I want to use whatever time I have left at the club to actually embrace it and play the game."
Marler said he had "absolutely no idea" that Heenan's mother was in hospital and revealed that his wife took him to task over the comment.
"She turned round to me after and she was like, 'You're an idiot, aren't you? You're just a moron'," Marler added.
"I went: 'What do you mean? I thought you're meant to defend me.
"And she went: 'Why am I defending you? That's not even a funny attempt. Why don't you just stop doing it? Or, if you feel the need to do it, just don't bring family members into it'.
"'You never know what's going on in people's lives and just because it doesn't affect you on the pitch doesn't mean it's not going to affect other people'."
Marler is now England’s fourth most-banned player in rugby history
A number of well-known England players feature prominently in Wales Online's definitive list of rugby's bad boys, which ranks players who received the longest accumulative bans.
Check out the top five England internationals of the professional era below.
Most banned England players:
#5. Danny Grewcock - 28 weeks
A second row with something of a short fuse. Picked up a five-week ban after being sent off for kicking All Blacks hooker Anton Oliver in a Test in Dunedin in 1998, two weeks for punching Lawrence Dallaglio in a club match in 2003, two months for biting All Black hooker Keven Mealamu during the first Lions Test in 2005, six weeks for punching French lock Thibault Privat in 2007 and seven weeks for stamping on Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris in 2010. Knew his way to the disciplinary offices!
#5. Joe Marler - 29 weeks
England and Harlequins prop Marler's latest ban was for six weeks - four of them suspended - after accepting a charge regarding comments made to Bristol flanker Jake Heenan.
In 2016, he received a two-week ban following the “gypsy boy” saga, involving Wales’ Samson Lee, which erupted out of the Six Nations game at Twickenham.
The same penalty was to follow a couple of months later after he was cited for kicking Grenoble hooker Arnaud Héguy while playing for Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup semi-final.
Marler was then banned for three weeks in October 2017 after striking Wasps and now Wales lock Will Rowlands with an elbow and for six weeks later that same season for a shoulder charge on Sale’s TJ Ioane.
And, of course, in 2020 he was suspended for ten weeeks for grabbing the genitals of Wales skipper Alun Wyn Jones in the Six Nations encounter at Twickenham.
#3. Neil Back - Seven months in total
England flanker Back was in big trouble from the moment he pushed referee Steve Lander to the ground on the final whistle of Leicester’s 1996 Pilkington Cup final defeat against Bath. He maintained he had mistaken Lander for Bath back-rower Andy Robinson, but it didn’t wash and he was handed a six month ban. In 2005, he picked up a four-week ban for punching Wasps’ Joe Worsley in the Zurich Grand Final.
#2. Calum Clark - 32 weeks
This one still makes me wince. Northampton flanker Clark was found guilty of intentionally hyper-extending and breaking the arm of Leicester hooker Rob Hawkins during the 2012 LV cup final. The ban was initially for 64 weeks, but was halved due to his guilty plea.
#1. Dylan Hartley - 60 weeks in total
Take a deep breath.
- In April 2007, the Northampton hooker was banned for 26 weeks for gouging Wasps duo James Haskell and Jonny O’Connor.
- In March 2012, he was suspended for eight weeks for biting Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris while on England duty at Twickenham.
- In December 2012, he was handed a two-week ban for striking Ulster’s Rory Best.
- In May 2013, he was suspended for 11 weeks for abusing referee Wayne Barnes during the Saints’ Premiership final defeat to Leicester, missing the Lions tour of Australia as a result.
- In December 2014, he was banned for three weeks for elbowing Tigers wing Matt Smith, and then in May of 2015 he was suspended for four weeks for butting his Saracens opposite number Jamie George, which led to him being dropped from England’s World Cup plans.
- In 2016, he caught Leinster’s Sean O’Brien to the head with a swinging arm from behind, picking up a red card which was followed by a six-week ban.
