Joe Marler has shocked rugby by announcing his England retirement with immediate effect at the age of 28.
The Harlequins prop, who won his 59th cap as startling loosehead in England’s most recent Test, said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Marler’s dramatic decision comes two years after he withdrew from an England tour to Australia on the grounds he was not in the right frame of mind to play international rugby.
That decision was taken in conjunction wth Red Rose boss Eddie Jones. This one was all his own.
Marler said: “It is an incredible commitment to play rugby for England and I strongly believe that if you are unable to give yourself fully to it then it is time to step away. Otherwise it would not be fair on the team, or my family.
“Being with England you have to spend an incredible amount of time away and I could not do that anymore. So now is the time to walk away and get some new blood in the team.”
Marler’s departure a year out from the World Cup is a significant blow to England, given his experience as a six-year international and British Lion.
It leaves Mako Vunipola as the undisputed front runner for the No.1 jersey, ahead of Exeter duo Alec Hepburn and Ben Moon and Leicester’s Ellis Genge.
Jones said: “Joe is a great player and team member so I am disappointed and we will miss him. But he has made his decision on personal grounds and we understand his reasoning.
“He’s a good guy – an honest, mature person who understands the demands of the game.”
Marler, who will continue to play for Quins, won his first England cap during the 2012 tour to South Africa. Within four years he had 42 to his name, having missed only four matches.
It caught up with him. In the spring of 2016 he served two bans and decided he had to get off rugby’s never-slowing treadmill.
“My falling out with people was a reflection of baling under pressure,” he admitted at the time. “Getting more and more withdrawn.
“My time away allowed me to confront the centre question: why do I play the game? It allowed me to realise that actually my family are my number one priority. I’d been caught up in the bubble of rugby for so many years."
Two years on Marler has arrived at that point again. Only this time there is no going back.”
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