For once, Joe Marler is lost for words. He runs his hand through his thinning head of hair and stares at the ground as he contemplates what it means to have another shot at a World Cup.
‘I missed it, not playing for England,’ says the prop, who was out of the team for 17 months until this summer. ‘I got a bit lost. I lost the drive.
‘I was just turning up occasionally and playing but there was nothing to really get after. It was poor from me but it’s just where I was at.
‘If we had won in Japan in 2019 I probably wouldn’t be sat here talking to you now. I probably wouldn’t be talking to anyone, unless it was in the evening at an after-dinner gig. I can’t do that, so I still had that urge to go one better at a World Cup.
‘I left that World Cup with great happiness but also a, “What could have been?” You see those pictures of Richie McCaw, Martin Johnson, Siya Kolisi lifting the trophy and I think, “That could have been us”. It’s a bit weird saying it out loud.
Joe Marler is back in the England squad ahead of the World Cup following 17 months out of the team
The prop has proven his fitness to England coach Steve Borthwick and earned his place at the tournament in France
Marler admits that he has ‘missed playing for England’ after saying he previously ‘lost the drive’ when playing for his country
‘It wasn’t until Steve Borthwick rang me up in May time and said: “I think you could improve the scrum but you’re not fit enough”, that I really had something to chase. It gave me a new lease of life…’
Marler pauses and takes a moment to reflect on his own words before addressing Mail Sport. ‘Usually I just find something funny to say but you’ve made me stop and think for once,’ he says.
‘You’ve made me say something profound. You idiot!’
Back in January, when we had lunch with Tom Kerridge at his restaurant in central London, Marler said that his days in the England team were finished. ‘I was just happy going to get free meals at Tom Kerridge’s Bar and Grill with you. How nice was that? Shall we go back?
‘But yeah, there wasn’t any chance of playing for England then as far as I was concerned. I was out of the mix and that was it. Tom actually texted me to say, “Congratulations” when I was named in the squad. But I don’t want being named in the 33 to be the pinnacle. That wasn’t the goal. The goal is to start winning in an England shirt again.
‘You and a lot of people in the outside world think England don’t have the ability to win the World Cup. The rest of the world’s writing us off but I know there’s enough talent in that squad to beat anyone on our day.’
England’s underwhelming performances in warm-up matches have led many to write them off ahead of the tournament
Marler was part of the England team that were beaten in the World Cup final by South Africa in 2019
The clouds over the England camp are definitely dark but Marler remains sunny and has been relishing the prospect of facing the Argentina scrum next Saturday.
‘Statistically, Argentina are the toughest team we’re going to face,’ he says. ‘Their scrum is powerful. It’s heart driven, emotion driven, it’s “We’re getting after you no matter what”. Sometimes it’s reckless, sometimes they just take what they can get. That can be hell to play against and hell to prepare for because you think you’ve got them on a trend, but they don’t have many trends.
‘It’s one of my favourite challenges to come up against. I remember touring there in 2013 and it was just a great feeling. In 2019, the game changed when they got a red card and we got on top.
‘It will be another level when we meet this time and it makes me a bit wet in the mouth.’
