England prop Dan Cole admits he was surprised by the timing of Joe Marler’s instant retirement from international rugby.
Marler, who sparked controversy with disparaging comments about the Haka ahead of his country’s 24-22 loss against New Zealand on Saturday, publicly called time on his 95-cap Test career on Sunday morning.
The 34-year-old had been selected by head coach Steve Borthwick for the Autumn Nations Series but left the squad last Monday for personal reasons.
His final England outing came in July when he suffered a broken foot during the opening Test of the 2-0 summer tour defeat to the All Blacks.
Cole, who shared a room on international duty with long-term team-mate Marler, said: “Did I think he would go last Sunday? No.
“But we both knew in the end, the older we’re getting, it was coming at some point. I thought part of him wanted a hundred caps but unfortunately he hurt his foot in that New Zealand Test.
“You have an inclination but you have no control over what he thinks or does. The good thing is he has gone out on his own terms, so he’s alive, well and healthy.
“He’s still my friend but he’s just not here. Part and parcel of rugby is people come and go.”
Marler, who will continue to play for Harlequins until the end of the season, has been no stranger to controversy, including last week with his social media posts calling for the “ridiculous” Haka to be “binned”.
The colourful prop subsequently apologised and stated he was merely trying to “spark interest in a mega rugby fixture”, as well as contest the restrictions in place for facing the Maori war dance.
He has spoken openly about his mental health struggles.
Cole, who is preparing for England’s remaining November fixtures against Australia, South Africa and Japan, continued: “Obviously for selfish reasons you miss him because he’s your friend but, at the same time, the team continues to move forward.
“And that’s the thing with rugby, maybe one of the great things about it: no matter how much adversity you have, you still turn up for training and move forward.”
England Under-20 prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour has been called up by Borthwick as loosehead cover for Marler.
Cole urged the uncapped 20-year-old to focus on bringing his own point of difference, rather than attempting to be a direct replacement.
“He’s obviously been playing fantastically well in the Premiership for Sale,” said 37-year-old Cole.
“Teams evolve, teams move forward, other people have to step up. But it’s not about replacing like-for-like, it’s not about him replacing Marler.
“It’s about bringing your own personality. It’s not trying to be someone else. You’ve been selected because you have a point of difference to bring and it’s about bringing that, rather than trying to be something you’re not.”
PA
