‘Let the f*****s cook’ – Joe Marler reveals Eddie Jones’ savage request ahead of mid-year Japan v England Test
England prop Joe Marler speaking to former head coach Eddie Jones ahead of Test in 2022.
Eddie Jones sought to gain an immediate advantage over England by having June’s game kick off in the glare of the midday sun, says Joe Marler.
The Red Rose reunite with their former head coach when they face Japan in the first clash of their mid-year tour.
England then head to New Zealand for a two-Test series as they look to continue their progress following an improved Six Nations Championship.
Jones’ struggles
Jones was sacked by the Rugby Football Union in December 2022 after a dreadful run of results and then had an ill-fated 10 months in charge of his native Australia.
The 63-year-old resigned at the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup, which saw them eliminated at the pool stages, before he joined up with the Brave Blossoms for a second stint.
He will no doubt want to prove a point and, according to Marler, that has meant attempting to play their match when the temperature is at its highest against players that are not used to hot conditions.
“I heard he was trying to get kick-off at 11:30am, 12:00pm,” the prop told the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.
Marler then joked: “He (Jones) was like, ‘Let the f*****s cook, they can’t f*****g handle the heat can they?’
“But we’ve managed to get that pushed back, which is nice.”
The loosehead is also expecting Jones to use the media to try and put pressure on Steve Borthwick and his England team, something Marler will personally enjoy.
“Whether I’m involved or not, I’m just looking forward to the media bombs that are going to come flying out from Eddie in that week leading up to England-Japan because he won’t be able to help himself will he?” he said.
“With his former understudy Steve, they are very different blokes, very different different characters, I’m intrigued to see how that week goes.”
Borthwick and George
Since taking over from Jones, Borthwick has had his critics but there were signs of improvement in the final two matches of the Six Nations.
They ended Ireland’s Grand Slam dream before they came within a couple of minutes of defeating France away from home.
Following their resurgence, Marler praised captain Jamie George, who took over the leadership responsibility from Owen Farrell after the fly-half stepped back from Test rugby.
“Jamie George is an unbelievable captain, unbelievable bloke. He’s settling in nicely in that role,” Marler added.
“A different sort of role to what Faz provided. Faz is an unbelievable competitor, he’s like, ‘This is my way, follow me’, but Jamie’s a different one.
“He’s a bit more of a social chameleon, but in a positive way. Sometimes, when people say someone’s a social chameleon, they’re a bit wet, but I don’t mean that at all.”
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