Jamie George has admitted Joe Marler might have poked the bear with his criticism of the haka before revealing England are considering a response to New Zealand’s traditional war dance at Twickenham on Saturday.
The England captain said he disagreed with Marler’s view that the haka should be “binned”, insisting he “loves the history of it” but does believe opponents should be entitled to respond in a respectful manner.
George revealed he has spoken to Marler who, as the Guardian exclusively revealed, left the England team camp at the start of the week for personal reasons, and while the captain does not believe the prop has caused a distraction, he acknowledged it could provide New Zealand with a bit of extra motivation.
The All Blacks head coach, Scott Robertson, said that Marler “could have articulated himself a little bit better” and said any responses to the haka should be respectful while the flanker Sam Cane claimed that the England front-rower “knew exactly what he was doing” before insisting that performing war dance is a show of respect.
“It’s classic Joe if I’m honest,” said George. “He’s always been a little bit close to the line with certain social media posts. It’s not unhelpful. It’s a conversation that Joe and I actually had the week before; thoughts on it, what can we do back to it. I guess he’s sort of prodded the bear a little bit. We’ve chatted a little bit this week and I just said, ‘cheers mate, thanks very much’.”
On Tuesday, Marler wrote on social media that “the haka is ridiculous, it needs binning”. In another post, referencing the Siva Tau war dance before the rugby league Test between England and Samoa last Sunday, he said: “It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the [rugby] league boys did last week.”
In the two summer Test defeats by the All Blacks in Dunedin and Auckland, England opted to take a collective step towards New Zealand as they performed the haka. Before the 2019 World Cup semi-final, Eddie Jones hatched a plan for his side to form a V-formation but while they believed it had the desired effect with Mako Vunipola saying “we knew it would rile them up”, England were fined £2,000 for crossing the halfway line which is against World Rugby regulations.
Before New Zealand’s one-point victory at Twickenham in 2018, England players urged the crowd to drown out the haka with Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and they duly obliged. George is relishing the sense of theatre that will greet the on-field buildup on Saturday as England seek a first home win over the All Blacks in 12 years, and said he will discuss what his side might do in response to the haka on Friday.
“We’ll have a little chat about it, myself and some of the senior players, but, yeah, there might be something,” he added. “I think as long as it’s respectful, yes [responses are a good thing]. If it comes from the right place, yes. Taking a step forward for us symbolised that we weren’t going to take a step back, and we welcomed the challenge. I think that you should be entitled to that.
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“Growing up as a big rugby fan it was always something I enjoyed watching, and I’ve been lucky enough to face it a few times. I love the history of it. Joe and I, we don’t always agree on everything, so we disagree on this certain topic. I love it, I’ve got a pretty good understanding of it having travelled New Zealand, of what New Zealand and Māori culture is. I have friends from the Pacific Islands that have explained to me pretty well what it’s all about, that’s it’s a challenge that you lay down. It’s a brilliant part of the game and a great spectacle.
“What I love about the haka at Twickenham is you hear the noise, you hear the theatre that comes with the haka. It’s the cheering, all the chanting that goes on with it. That’s the stuff that makes rugby special.”
Meanwhile, England have revealed tighthead prop Trevor Davison is providing loosehead cover in the event of an injury to Ellis Genge or Fin Baxter before Saturday’s match, effectively ruling out an unlikely SOS call to Marler. Steve Borthwick will update his squad on Sunday and Marler is not expected to feature.
“Joe left for personal reasons early in the week, he has had contact with some players and coaches and is doing OK,” said the assistant coach Kevin Sinfield. “He has been available to cover this week if needed but from now on in, in the unlikely event that something happens, Trevor Davison will cover both sides.” Of Marler’s tweet, Sinfield added: “It’s not like Joe to throw a hand grenade in is it?”