England legend Joe Marler, 34, announces shock retirement days after sparking huge haka row and collecting 95 caps

JOE MARLER has announced his shock retirement from international rugby with immediate effect.

The prop, 34, racked up a whopping 95 caps for England, making his debut back in 2012.

Marler won three Six Nations titles – in 2016, 2017 and 2020 – and was part of the Red Rose squad that reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, losing to South Africa.

But he hit the headlines plenty of times for his misdemeanours and antics – often away from the rugby pitch.

And that included just this week as he sparked a huge row over New Zealand’s famous haka.

Marler labelled the All Blacks’ pre-match traditional Maori dance as “ridiculous” and called for it to be banned.

That prompted a furious backlash on social media, with many calling the Englishman “disrespectful” for his outspoken views.

Marler deactivated his social media account but returned on Wednesday to apologise and suggest he was purely trying to drum up added heat and interest ahead of the England vs New Zealand clash at Twickenham on Saturday – as well as “satisfying my narcissism”.

Marler missed out on yesterday’s crunch showdown as he continued his recovery from a broken foot.

But now the Harlequins star has revealed he won’t pull on the famous white jersey to represent his country again – thus ruling him out of the remainder of the Autumn Internationals.

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In a heartfelt Instagram post on Sunday morning, Marler said: “Playing for England always felt like I was living in a dream bubble.

“I kept waiting for it to pop and for me to suddenly go back to being a gobby, overweight 16-year-old again.

“But you know when it’s time.

“I can’t do what I used to do as well as I once could. I can’t keep talking about my family being my priority unless they actually are.

“I want to keep untarnished all these memories of my career, both good and bad.

“I don’t want to leave my house with my kids crying. I’m ready to make the change.

“l’m incredibly grateful I got to play 95 times for my country.

“I have to pinch myself. Did I really do that?

“I’m grateful to all those people who showed patience as I kept messing up.

“I’m grateful to the fans who made each match special.

“I’m grateful to the team-mates who pushed alongside or behind me, and the ones who could do all the things with a ball that I can’t.

“But most of all I’m grateful to [my wife] Daisy, [and children] Jasper, Maggie, Felix and Pixie for the unwavering support.

“I’m sad to say goodbye to international rugby. But I’m really proud, too.

“Time to exit one dream bubble; time to enter a new one. Big Love x”

According to The Times, Marler decided to retire last Sunday when he left the England camp for “personal reasons” – and told head coach Steve Borthwick of his decision to stop.

The prop is understood to have found his heart was no longer invested during the Spanish training camp and decided to step away and not make himself available for the four November fixtures.

He told close pal Dan Cole he was “done” after they hugged in their team hotel, to which the fellow veteran front-rower simply replied: “I know you are.”

Marler added in his Instagram statement: “It’s the friendship and respect of team-mates like Dan that I’ll cherish the most.

“The fun we had reaching the Rugby World Cup final in Japan in 2019. Coming off together in the semi-final against South Africa in 2013, sitting down on the bench, patting each other on the leg and saying, ‘We did alright there, old son.’

“Rugby has taken me places I could never have imagined.

“We have a big map of the world up on the wall in our kitchen. We put pins in where we’ve been. The kids have four or five holiday places, Daisy the same. They can’t believe how many I’ve stuck in. ‘Dad, have you really been there? What’s Uruguay?’

“When you come from a little town in East Sussex, that’s not normal. It’s a wonderful thing.

“When I first got picked to play for England 14 years ago, I was terrified. I wasn’t good enough. I had bleached hair with red bits in it.

“I couldn’t even drive myself to Pennyhill Park, I had to ask a mate to drop me off. When he did, he asked me if I could nick some stash as a souvenir.

“I met Martin Johnson before training, and he towered over me and told me to get a haircut.”

Team-mates past and present Manu Tuilagi, Marcus Smith and Mike Brown all commented messages of support on the post – as did cricket Sam Billings and footballer Aaron Ramsdale.

England head coach Borthwick said: “Joe has been an outstanding servant to English rugby – a tough, uncompromising competitor on the field and a genuine, one-of-a-kind personality off it.

“We’ll miss his humour, sense of fun and the energy he brought to the squad.

“We’re grateful for all he’s given to England rugby, and though we won’t see him in an England jersey anymore he’ll always be part of this team. Thank you, Joe.”

The retirement announcement – the second of his international career after initially briefly hanging up his boots for England in 2018 – had no connection to the haka saga.

Marler, the ninth-most-capped England rugby player, will carry on playing for club side Harlequins until the end of the season and then is set to retire from the sport for good in 2025.

The star follows the likes of Courtney Lawes, Jonny May, Ben Youngs and Danny Care in retiring from England duty since last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa – while Owen Farrell paused his Red Rose career to play for Racing 92 in France.

Marler went on the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in 2017 and it was against the All Blacks that he made his final England appearance, breaking his foot in a scrum during the July Test in Dunedin.

He was in the crowd at Twickenham yesterday as England lost 24-22 in dramatic fashion – having watched on earlier as his pals walked towards the New Zealand players during the haka.

Marler’s career has not been short of drama, too.

He was banned for two matches and fined £20,000 in 2016 for calling Samson Lee a “gypsy boy” then four years later he copped a ten-week ban for grabbing Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones’ genitals during a Six Nations contest.

Ironically, he did not miss any games due to the Covid pandemic halting rugby.

Marler has his own podcast, appeared in a Durex condom advert and has an OnlyFans account where subscribers can pay for pictures of his feet.

He has also been an advocate for raising awareness for men’s mental health amid his own struggles.