Rising Son: Joe Marler
Find out more about the grassroots journeys of England's Rising Sons.
It was on a tour of Guernsey and Jersey while playing for Eastbourne RFC that a young Joe Marler was up to his old tricks.
“It was our first proper tour and basically Joe was head of mischief for the whole trip,” says Will Stadler, Joe’s coach at the club.
“You just had to follow the laughter on that tour and Joe was always the source. He was definitely naughty back then and I guess that hasn’t really changed!”
Stadler coached Marler from the age of 9 to 16 at the Sussex club and says the young prop always stood out.
“I remember the first time I met Joe, he was playing for Hellingly RFC and was running absolute rings around us.
“He came to Eastbourne and you could immediately see his talent. He held nothing back when he played and that set him apart.
“At some point the lightbulb came on for him and he realised that he could really take his rugby somewhere but even then, he always played with a smile on his face.”
Joe the Physio
That smile didn’t seem to leave Marler’s face throughout his time at Eastbourne according to Stadler, even after a printing mishap which may have left others red faced.
“We let all the lads pick names to have on the back of their shirts, Joe decided to have ‘psycho’ put on his as a joke.
“But it was printed wrong and so he spent the whole season playing with ‘physio’ written on his back.
“It made him a bit of a target but he loved it, he was just a joy to be around and had an enthusiasm for the sport that everyone fed off.”
Marler was voted players’ player of the season for five years in a row at Eastbourne and caught the attention of county and divisional selectors.
Harlequins soon came calling and he made his debut in 2009 before running out for England for the first time in 2012 against South Africa.
“As a proud South African I watched Joe make his debut and in all honesty I just cried and cried.
“I thought back to all of those Sundays spent with him and the team, all those hours coaching him and here he was playing for his country.
“As a coach there is no higher honour than to help a player achieve something like that.”
Stadler was there as Marler went on to earn his 50th cap for England and now is cheering him on as England prepare to play New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
“Joe is where he is because he took every opportunity that was given to him and it makes me so proud to have been part of that journey.”
