{"id":290595,"date":"2023-09-13T22:23:37","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T22:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=290595"},"modified":"2023-09-13T22:23:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T22:23:37","slug":"joe-marler-believes-mavericks-can-thrive-in-steve-borthwicks-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/rugby-union\/joe-marler-believes-mavericks-can-thrive-in-steve-borthwicks-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Marler believes mavericks can thrive in Steve Borthwick&apos;s England"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Joe Marler was told to get a haircut when he turned up for his first training session with a red Mohawk&#8230; now the prop believes mavericks can thrive in Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Danny Cipriani has claimed there is no room for mavericks within English rugby<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Joe Marler suggested that freedom of expression is encouraged by new regime\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When Joe Marler was first called up by England, as a rookie prop with a red Mohawk, he was told to get a haircut. Now, he believes the national team can benefit from more progressive attitudes in rugby.<\/p>\n<p>The sport is slowly, belatedly, casting off its stuffy image and embracing the presence of unorthodox characters in its midst. Marler is certainly one of them.<\/p>\n<p>Harlequins\u2019 33-year-old loosehead is known as a charismatic figure and he believes that he and other non-conformists are now being accepted by a sport which for so long treated those who didn\u2019t fit into a standard mould with deep suspicion.<\/p>\n<p>In this England regime, under head coach Steve Borthwick, Marler suggested that freedom of expression is encouraged and that has a positive impact on morale in the camp. \u2018Having been out of the previous environment for 18 months, then coming into Steve\u2019s environment, there has been a huge difference in terms of how a lot of the group have felt, who they can be and how they can behave,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That\u2019s had a massive effect on how they are approaching training and how they are enjoying themselves. It looks like the boys find it easy to be themselves. I\u2019ve always found it easy to be myself under previous regimes and this one because\u2026 I couldn\u2019t give a f**k! The more you enjoy it, the more comfortable you feel, the more you will get out of it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/13\/21\/75401487-0-image-a-20_1694635910624.jpg\" height=\"693\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Harlequins and England prop\u00a0Joe Marler (above) is known as a charismatic figure<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/13\/21\/75401605-0-image-a-21_1694636061518.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The 33-year-old\u00a0believes England can benefit from more progressive attitudes in rugby<\/p>\n<p>At a time when he is promoting his autobiography, former England fly-half Danny Cipriani has argued that there is no room for mavericks within English rugby. When that was put to Marler, he disagreed, saying: \u2018That is his experience. That is his story. That is not my story.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Is Cips\u2019s book fiction or non-fiction? Do we know what section of the bookshop it will be in? I tried asking him the other night but he is not answering. I can\u2019t deny his view on it; he is more than entitled to share that. But that is not how I see it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Yet, it used to be like that, back when Marler was an emerging front-row prospect who stood out because of his style, as well as his play. When he turned up for his first England training camp 13 years ago, his hair caused a stir.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I had a Mohawk,\u2019 he said. \u2018I think it might have been red or stars or something, with a rat\u2019s tail at the back. I looked horrific.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I remember Martin Johnson coming down the steps at Pennyhill and he went, \u201cAre you ready for training?\u201d I said, \u201cYeah, definitely\u201d. Then he said, \u201cAre you going to have a haircut before training?\u201d I was like \u201cUm\u201d \u2014 and he just walked off.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Some people might interpret that as, \u201cHe is being serious and you don\u2019t fit the bill. This is how it is and you need to shave your hair off\u201d. But I took it as, \u201cHe\u2019s just joking\u201d. Funnily enough, I was sent home the next day! But I think it had more to do with the fact Andrew Sheridan\u2019s back recovered\u2026 I\u2019d like to think!\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/13\/21\/75401985-12515435-image-m-32_1694636825868.jpg\" height=\"660\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England head coach Steve Borthwick has had a positive impact on team morale<\/p>\n<p>That exchange left Marler with an early conundrum; whether to \u2018toe the line to a degree\u2019 and fit in, or stay true to himself and accept there may be consequences. But he believes times have changed. He senses that rugby has been dragged gradually into a new era of enlightenment.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if there is more individuality now, he said: \u2018Definitely. Society has changed and rugby is getting there. You\u2019re getting a lot more boys who are comfortable being themselves and being encouraged to be themselves. You\u2019ll get the best out of players if they feel comfortable and they\u2019re enjoying the work space that they\u2019re in.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Marler is enjoying it, without question. He has been acting as under-study to Ellis Genge at loosehead and is quite content, whether he continues to do that or is given a starting berth over the course of this campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I said to Steve way back in May, \u201cWhatever role you need me to play, I\u2019m here\u201d,\u2019 he said. \u2018That\u2019s still the case. I\u2019ve spoken about my troubles leaving home \u2014 my mental health struggles in the past. I\u2019m not putting my family through the wringer unless I\u2019m fully committed and wanting to be here. So whatever role I play, I\u2019m on board.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12515435\/Joe-Marler-told-haircut-turned-training-session-red-Mohawk-prop-believes-mavericks-thrive-Steve-Borthwicks-England.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Marler was told to get a haircut when he turned up for his first training session with a red Mohawk&#8230; now the prop believes mavericks can thrive in Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England Danny Cipriani has claimed there is no room for mavericks within English rugby Joe Marler suggested that freedom of expression is encouraged by&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Joe Marler believes mavericks can thrive in Steve Borthwick&amp;apos;s England - Tell My Sport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/rugby-union\/joe-marler-believes-mavericks-can-thrive-in-steve-borthwicks-england\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joe Marler believes mavericks can thrive in Steve Borthwick&amp;apos;s England - Tell My Sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joe Marler was told to get a haircut when he turned up for his first training session with a red Mohawk&#8230; 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