Joe Marler didn't speak to England teammate for 18 months: “I’d lost the plot with him”

The outspoken loosehead, who hung up his boots at 34, built a career on confrontation, controversy and elite performance in equal measure.

A one-club man with Harlequins, Marler earned 95 England caps across a decade at the top of the game, toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2017 and featured at multiple World Cups.

As renowned for his dark humour and needle as his scrummaging, Marler has always been unafraid to say exactly what he thinks — particularly when it comes to players he doesn’t rate.

These two have history. Henson was ruled out for a number of weeks in 2016 after Marler clattered the Welsh Prince off the ball.

The England prop was returning to rugby after a troubled 2015-16 season, that prompted the loosehead to take a break from the game in the summer missing England's historic 3-0 whitewash of the Wallabies Down Under.

A story from Marler's book shows the ego of Henson in 2005 was off the scale. Being told to hurry up with his hair by his captain Gareth Thomas, the playmaker showed his skipper little respect.H

enson's reply to Thomas was: "Alf, your mother and father have come to watch you play today, but there are 72,000 out there who have come to watch me."

Woodward tore apart Eddie Jones' side during a webinar, slamming Marler and fellow prop Dan Cole for their behaviour in a press conference prior to the loss against South Africa back in November.

This wasn't the first time the 2003 World Cup-winning coach called out the prop.

After reading an article on the Rugby Pass website highlighting Woodward's comments, he tweeted him directly, saying: "Change the record Sir Clive - you should be grateful you can 'milk the cow' for another 3 years."

Over 1,000 days since Folau last played a professional match of rugby union, Marler's old Twitter sparring partner made his return to the sport over the weekend.

The loose-head prop takes any chance he can to call out the former Wallabies fullback, who could soon represent Tonga, for his homophobic views.

In a series of tweets sent directly to Folau, Marler attached pictures and GIFs of men kissing, in a display of defiant humour which was praised by fellow players and LGBTQ fans alike.

Marler later named Folau in his dream team in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

On selecting Folau as his fullback, Marler commented, "On the night out, after we had played our match on the Saturday, I'd take him out in Brighton to The Blue Oyster... a couple of clubs."

The winger’s dramatic mid-season exit from Harlequins in 2017 — swapping Twickenham Stoop for Premiership rivals Sale Sharks — now appears less surprising, with Marler later admitting the pair simply never saw eye to eye.

Marler said: “I hadn’t spoken to the bloke in 18 months,

“I’d lost the plot with him a good while ago. And let him be, let him do his own thing, because I’d given up on it

“He’d made the decision that he wanted to leave…you know, all the best to him. I wish him all the best. I don’t wish nastiness upon anyone.

“He’s one of those to just leave, as he won’t change in my mind. Me and him just don’t get on.”