England prop Joe Marler gave his thoughts on a polarising piece of play from the weekend, that has caused quite the stir amongst the online rugby fanbase. The Harlequins legend shared his view on a passage of play during Bath's win over Gloucester, which saw a solid minute of 'kick tennis' play out at the Rec.
Marler did not hold back in his disapproval, as he wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) "This is b*****ks. Proper b*****ks." The play in question took place in the 13th and 14th minutes, with the action not at all capturing the regular intensity between the West Country rivals.
Some of the replies to Marler's statement shared his perspective, with one Twitter user saying that the kicking "Allowed the pack time for a cuppa and a digestive".
Another comment stated; "It’s everything that’s wrong with English Rugby. Why would anyone pay to watch that?"
A third said: "I hate tennis, that’s why I watch rugby!!!"
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50 Greatest British Rugby Players:
#50. Mike Tindall (England)
#49. Scott Quinnell (Wales)
#48. Matt Dawson (England)
#47. Will Carling (England)
#46. Scott Hastings (Scotland)
#45. Jonny May (England)
#44. Finlay Calder (Scotland)
#43. Maro Itoje (England)
#42. Rob Howley (Wales)
#41. Adam Jones (Wales)
#40. Peter Winterbottom (England)
#39. Andy Irvine (Scotland)
#38. David Sole (Scotland)
#37. Scott Gibbs (Wales)
#36. Lewis Moody (England)
#35. Chris Paterson (Scotland
#34. Mervyn Davies (Wales)
#33. Rory Underwood (England)
#31. Fran Cotton (England)
#30. George North (Wales)
#29. Will Greenwood (England)
#28. Tom Smith (Scotland)
#27. Phil Vickery (England)
#26. Graham Price (Wales)
#25. Neil Back (England)
#24. Brian Moore (England)
#23. Bill Beaumont (England)
#22. Phil Bennett (Wales)
#21. Jeremy Guscott (England)
#20. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
#19. Gerald Davies (Wales)
#18. Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
#17. Richard Hill (England)
#16. Jason Leonard (England)
#15. Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
#14. Doddie Weir (Scotland)
#13. Jason Robinson (England)
#12. Ben Youngs (England)
Ben Youngs of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Australia at Twickenham on 13 November 2021. Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK
#11. Sam Warburton (Wales)
#10. Lawrence Dallaglio (England)
#9. Martyn Williams (Wales)
#8. Owen Farrell (England)
#7. JPR Williams (Wales)
#6. Shane Williams (Wales)
#5. Barry John (Wales)
#4. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
Alun Wyn Jones of Wales during the Wales Rugby Captains Run ahead of the Six Nations Match between Wales and England at Principality Stadium, London on 24 Feb 2023 (Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)
#3. Jonny Wilkinson (England)
#2. Martin Johnson (England)
#1. Gareth Edwards (Wales)
Quiz! Can you name every player from England's 2003 Rugby World Cup squad?
This quiz tests your knowledge of that heralded group of 22 players who took on and beat the Wallabies in their own backyard on November 22, 2003.
Some of these are significantly easier than others.
