Rugby World Cup 2019: Joe Marler on ‘working his buns off’ to revive his England career and learning to deal with pressure

Thirteen months ago Marler threw the towel in on his international career, only for a voice inside to convince him that what England are trying to achieve in Japan is something that he wanted to be apart of

In a bar, just outside the seaside surf resort of Aoshima, two rugby writers were discussing who should wear the No 1 shirt in the ‘team of the tournament’ being published the following day. After much discussion, responses of “ridiculous” and “yeah but what about”, one surprise name comes up: Joe Marler.

Marler wasn’t supposed to be here, at least not in Japan. Following the shock decision to retire from international rugby, England moved on from Marler and Marler moved on from England – the prospect of an eight-week campaign away from his family and recent arrival of his third child was exactly what the Harlequins prop wanted to avoid this time last year.

But here the 29-year-old is, having started all three of England’s pool games and back in the selection mix for Saturday’s quarter-final against Australia after recovering from a niggling back injury that had ruled him out of the France match that never was.

From retirement to team of the tournament in 13 months. Not bad.

But there is a much bigger reason for Marler’s change of heart than making any select XVs. “I want to be part of a squad that wins a World Cup,” he says. “That was part of the reason I came out of retirement. I could see the potential in this group and I wanted a taste of that. That's ultimately what's driving me on for the next couple of weeks.”

The other part is that Marler feels he is in a much better place mentally than he was 12 months ago, when the pressures of playing for his country developed a resentment within him for international duty.

Not only did Marler have to convince Eddie Jones that he wanted this opportunity, but he had to convince himself.

“It hasn't been easy,” he adds. “I have worked my buns off to try and get back into an emotional and mental state capable of contributing to the squad the best I can. Physically, that has been even harder. You come out of it for a year and you forget how quick and fast they do everything, so it hasn't been easy and I am thoroughly enjoying myself.”

Three games into the tournament, there can be no doubting Marler’s commitment to the cause. His performances on the field are matching those off it – although his early press conference theatrics have died down for what really is an open, honest and entertaining chat with the British and Australian press. And that’s the thing with Marler, you never quite know what you’re going to get, and sometimes he isn’t entirely sure himself. To answer whether winning the World Cup, as is his want, would be life-changing, he ponders before answering: “I never know whether to be arsey or not. Yes, it would be life-changing...in the sense that we'd have won the World Cup.”

It’s an apparent sign that he can still be at conflict with who he is and what is expected of him. Does he want to sit there and answer question after question about his passion, his desire and his mental health? Probably not, but then there is a side of him that enjoys it too. It is a way that he deals with pressure, a different type of pressure to what he faces when wearing the England or Harlequins shirt, but one that perhaps mounts when he least expects it – in a media huddle, a hotel room away from home, or a changing room when suddenly enough is enough. Sometimes it’s the thought of defeat that can lead to those feelings, which brings Marler to an interesting topic: Cardiff 2013, when England looked to have the Six Nations Grand Slam in their grasp only to have 10 bells knocked out of them by Wales in a humbling 30-3 defeat, that cost them not only the clean sweep but the championship altogether.

Joe Marler has fought to revive his England career that has led him to the Rugby World Cup (Getty)

“Each individual is different,” he says when asked about how you deal with that pressure to win. “Jonny Wilkinson used to speak about the thing that drove him most was the fear of failure, the fear of losing, and that worked brilliantly for him. He was one of the best players ever to play the game.

“Jamie George, for example, is Mr Positive, Mr Energy all the time, he doesn’t focus on any of that because that brings him down and he has negative thoughts with it. He constantly thinks about enjoying the moment, the next job. Everyone is different but as a group, as a collective, we focus less on the fear factor, more on the opportunity and the challenge.

“I am more on the spectrum of: I will control what I can control and what will be will be. I’ll give 100 per cent in whatever role I have to play for the team and that’s all I can do. If you expend energy on stuff you can’t control, you’ll be knackered. I am better at that now [compared to 4 years ago] in terms of my mindset.

“I have been involved in teams when we have come close [to that nerve-wracking stage]. I was involved in the 2013 England team where we went down to Wales for the Grand Slam and the feeling amongst the group I remember being really nervous. We were so close, we had just got to win this game.

You never really know if Marler is pleased or frustrated at having to speak to the media (Getty)

“Other teams I have been involved in let nerves overcome them and caved in and allowed those nerves to become negative. I don’t feel that in this group. You may turn to me on Sunday and say 'you ballsed that up Joe' if we end up losing, but I don't feel that in this group. I feel the boys embrace that nervousness and use it as a positive energy to drive us on and have a bring it on mentality.”

It has been a rollercoaster 12 months for Marler, and in fact a rollercoaster career that you sense has involved many more dark days than he lets on. But if England do come unstuck on Saturday and crash out of the World Cup, there will be few who say this time he hadn’t given it his all.