England prop Joe Marler was a member of the English Rugby World Cup squad that limped out of the tournament at the group stages, and apparently that makes it OK to go and smash people off the ball.
Aviva Premiership Rugby uploaded the following video of Marler's conversation with referee Luke Pearce during Harlequins 26-21 victory over Wasps this weekend, and the England international offers England's World Cup exit as a reason for a late hit when the ref pulled him aside for a world.
You got knocked out, that doesn't make dangerous play acceptable. The worst part of it is what was said after the ref correctly told him that the excuse doesn't fly:
You didn't get knocked out of the World Cup mate, I did.
The commentators had a good laugh, but really that's absolute bollocks. It was nasty, and "I'm frustrated because of the world cup lol" isn't an acceptable response.
We only wish Nigel Owens was there to have a word.
