JOE MARLER is ready to fight for his England place after re-igniting his inner fire.
The Harlequins prop missed this summer’s Australia tour after his ban for calling Samson Lee “a gypsy”.
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Marler said: “I was loving the Australia tour as a fan — but it also stoked the fire again and the whole point of taking the break was to assess everything — what do I want?
“There is bags of potential with England, it is exciting and I’d love to be a part of it.
“I would love to get back into that England squad.
“I am in a brilliant place and enjoying training every day. I had lost that for quite some time.”
Marler was driving back from England training over the summer when it hit him — his dream had become a nightmare.
Mentally and physically shot, there was no way he could give blood, sweat and tears for the Red Rose shirt in Australia after such a dramatic and emotional year.
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Marler’s career was at its lowest point after the prop’s ‘gypsy-gate’ rap for abusing Wales star Samson Lee, then kicking a Grenoble player in the head on his Harlequins comeback.
Still, three brutal Tests against World Cup runners-up is something bristly-bearded, 17-stone front-row forwards dine out on.
But not this time. Proud Englishman Marler had lost his hunger and could not travel Down Under for a pay cheque that his conscience could not stomach cashing.
He had been trying to recapture his love for the game — but rugby was not loving him back.
The divorce was not sudden, as Marler admitted: “It had been coming a good while. Last year was physically pretty tough and, mentally even tougher.”
Then, just 13 days before Eddie Jones’ squad flew to Brisbane for their tour, Marler knew that he was not fit to fly.
Recalling the moment in May when he realised he needed a break, the 26-year-old said: “It dawned on me when we met up for that camp in Brighton.
“I was driving back and I was like ‘I don’t want to be here’. I just didn’t have it in me. It was tough — but not enjoyable tough. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge, but I was just giving up then.
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“I told Eddie the following day and he was really good about it, wished me luck and that was it. I felt like I could be honest with him.
“He would have either said, ‘That’s complete bulls***, what are you doing?’ Or, what he did say, which was, ‘All the best, take care’. And that was it.
“I wouldn’t want to be running around the field with someone who is there just to pick up a pay cheque. What’s the point? People don’t want to watch a player who is there not giving their all.
“You want people who put their country’s shirt on and want to represent you as a fan. I thought about what I would have thought as a kid if I saw my hero, or a player I looked up to, just going through the motions. But I just didn’t have that in me.
“It was well publicised how much things had built up and how much trouble I was getting myself into. I was just losing control of it all.
“I had a lot of stuff to get to grips with and deal with and I needed that time.”
Time looks to have been the perfect healer for Marler, whose rugby romance is blossoming again.
But he admits watching the historic whitewash of Michael Cheika’s Wallabies from 10,000 miles away was a strange experience.
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Marler, capped 42 times for England, added: “There was a moment when I thought aggghhhhh! Not questioning the decision, but just the feeling of not being part of it. I was gutted, but I knew that it was my decision.
“The first game I didn’t see as I was on a plane, so I asked the pilot if he could find out the score!
“It was brilliant to hear we’d won and I couldn’t have been happier. It wasn’t a feeling of s**t, I wish I was part of that.”
Chats with Red Rose psychologist Jeremy Snape also helped Marler deal with his demons of 2015-16.
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That season started with the worst-ever performance by a home World Cup side as England were dumped out in the pool stages.
For all the public bashing Marler has taken, opting to take a break and sort his head out looks a smart move.
His club side Harlequins will also benefit from a player who, on his day, is one of the world’s best loosehead props.
But asked whether he has finally got that fiery temper in check, he admitted: “There’s that Mike Tyson quote: ‘Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face’ — that’s how it is at the moment.
“I have this plan and, come a week on Saturday against Bristol, I suspect someone might punch me in the face.
“But I can cope with stuff under pressure now that things on and off the field are rosy.”
With a fit and firing Marler, Premiership and Test forwards should beware when they next scrum down against him.
And the Quins star warned his rivals: “I haven’t been this excited for a while.”
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