Joe Marler makes plea to ITV after retired England star learns of Eddie Jones job | Rugby | Sport

Joe Marler has begged ITV to give him a punditry role at the Six Nations after learning that Eddie Jones will be running the rule over matches for the broadcaster.

The former England head coach, who is now in charge of Japan, will cast a critical eye over Steve Borthwick‘s men and other teams during the tournament having joined the ITV panel.

Jones was sacked by the RFU in 2022 and was lined up for a TV job at the Six Nations the following year, but he ultimately agreed to coach Australia.

Having left the ­Wallabies after just 10 months, he returned to Japan for a second spell in charge of their national side but will join ITV for this year’s competition.

The news of his involvement prompted Marler, who retired from rugby in November, to post on X (formerly Twitter): “Please let me go toe-to-toe with the Beaver and [Sir Clive] Woodward on @ITVRugby coverage!!!”

Marler has been critical of Jones following his departure as England head coach, claiming a ‘dark’ environment took hold during the latter stages of his tenure.

Speaking on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast, Marler said: “The environment [under Borthwick] is worlds apart from what Eddie’s became towards that second half of his cycle, which was dark at times.

“I have a lot of respect for the Big Beev, but there were some parts of his environment that I questioned to him and questioned around him and it’s nothing like what Steve has created.”

Marler also lifted the lid on Jones’ brutal training methods during a tour of South Africa, in which England lost the first two matches to end any hopes of a series victory.

In his Mail+ column, Marler wrote: “Boys were breaking left, right and centre. Eddie didn’t seem to care. His attitude was: you break, we’ll get the next one in. If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the scrambled egg tureen.

“The press were coming after us. The fans weren’t happy. We weren’t happy. Eddie turned round to us at the end of the tournament and told us it was all part of his plan.

“He said he wanted to find out about us as players. He said he had found out. Us senior boys had a chat about it afterwards. Had this genuinely always been part of the plan, or was he saying this now because he’d messed up?

“My own view was that he’s an intelligent man. He must have meant it, but it was a dark old way of going about it. And did he really need to break so many of the best players in the country?”

Marler added that in spite of their differences, he will always respect Jones after seeing another side to him during a low point in his England career.

“When I was going through a dark time in my life, when I decided I couldn’t play for England any more, I sat down with him in a coffee shop in Brighton,” recalled Marler.

“I was nervous. I told him: ‘Mate, I can’t do this anymore. I need to leave rugby and sort my head out’. He was brilliant. ‘Mate, I can see it in your eyes. Let me know if there’s anything we can do to help. Can we help you see someone?’.

“It was a proper human reaction, not the flippant side of him I’d sometimes seen. It felt like he cared. And he texted me every week after that, asking how I was, telling me to get down the beach and get some sea air in my lungs.”