- England play against New Zealand on Saturday in the Autumn Nations series
- Marler stirred the pot ahead of the clash and claimed the Haka should be binned
- The 34-year-old appeared to delete his X account after the social media post
England star Joe Marler has angered politicians and the public in New Zealand after saying that the All Blacks’ iconic Haka ‘needs binning’.
The loosehead prop, who has been absent since injuring his foot against the All Blacks in July, branded the traditional Maori dance ‘ridiculous’ in a post on X, ahead of the meeting of the two sides at Twickenham on Saturday.
Marler’s comments fanned the flames and have attracted criticism from within the country.
‘Calling for it to be binned with no reasoning shows a lack of appreciation for traditions which is a contradiction for any rugby player, cultural appreciation and lack of open mindedness.’ Maori cultural advisor Dr Karaitiana Taiuru told Kiwi news outlet Stuff.
Meanwhile, Minister for Regulation and leader of the ACT party, politician David Seymour aimed a savage dig at the 34-year-old, said: ‘In my experience I have met a few props with very high IQ, but very few of them. So it could be something in that area.’
Joe Marler believes New Zealand’s traditional war dance ‘needs binning’ ahead of the All Blacks clash against England on Saturday
The loosehead prop said He the Haka is ‘ridiculous’ unless opposition players are allowed to reply to it
Marler angered politicians and the public in New Zealand with his post on X on Tuesday
Marler, who is not in the match-day 23 for the weekend fixture, called for the Haka to be binned in a post on X on Tuesday evening.
He wrote: ‘The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.’ After that initial post, he clarified his meaning, saying: ‘It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.’
It appeared that Marler had deleted his X account on Wednesday some hours after the posts but he soon resurfaced, writing: ‘Context is everything. Just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture. Some wild responses.’
Concerns about the Haka going uncontested are valid. On Monday Mail Sport’s Chris Foy aired his view that it has ‘become too sanitised’ with photographers and microphones standing between the teams.
‘If only the authorities would lighten up and allow a proper response, it really would be worth watching,’ Foy wrote.
Players receiving the challenge are banned from crossing the halfway line, as per World Rugby rules. But Marler contravened that in 2019, crossing the line in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Referee Nigel Owens told him to move back and England were later hit with a £2,000 fine for breaching tournament rules ‘relating to cultural challenges’.
Marler told the Jonathan Ross Show that England had been confused over how they were meant to line up before that match, which ended won 19-7 before being trounced by South Africa in the final.
‘The issue was, Ben [Youngs] drew it up the night before … he got up and he did it on a flipchart and he marked it all out with Xs and Os,’ Marler said.
Marler responded after the wave of criticism and appeared to walk back the earlier claim
World Rugby rules ban players from crossing the line – something Marler did in 2019
‘The issue I had with it is I look at that board and thought, “It’s not to scale.” I thought we were meant to be closer than what the picture said.
‘[I went over the line] which I thought we were all going to do but then I looked back and they weren’t doing it but I thought, “I’ve already committed now.”‘
