Joe Marler has found himself yet again as the talk of the town after a particularly interesting interaction with Toulouse fullback Thomas Ramos.
Toulouse defeated Harlequins on Sunday in one of the most entertaining and exhilarating rugby matches this side of the decade, as the home side booked their place in the Champions Cup final.
Toulouse will venture over the English Channel at the end of the month to face Leinster at Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium in one of the most highly anticipated club matches of all time.
The two most successful European club sides of all time will face off in a ‘winner takes all’ occasion that promises to ignite a fire within the souls of all rugby fans.
The French side’s place in the final was never guaranteed, however, especially after being pushed to the very brink of defeat by a lethal, yet entertaining, Harlequins side today.
The match appeared dead and buried as the ball was ushered out into touch by Blair Kinghorn at the end of the first half, with Toulouse leading by a full 19 points. The one major mistake you can’t afford to make in rugby is to write Harlequins off too early – and that’s almost where Toulouse fell victim.
The visitors came back firing in the second half with a display of pure Quins determination and hope to draw within just 5 points of their opponents with less than a quarter of the game remaining. The match hung on a very narrow fulcrum as the nail bitten crowd watched on.
It was Toulouse that would snap back first to regain control, touching down with a converted try to take them 12 points ahead. Five minutes on the clock remained, but this was Quins we were talking about. Anything could happen, anything.
What did happen was quite unexpected, but in hindsight maybe shouldn’t be too surprising.
A frustrated Joe Marler, having taken to the field just 25 minutes prior, had taken his grievances out on a perplexed Thomas Ramos. Swiping the French fullback with one swift open palm, Marler found contact with the back of his head – leading to a sanction for Quins and signalling the end of their chances.
Such a stupid penalty to concede.
Joe Marler. 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/Bwtyy5Mhnb
ADVERTISEMENT— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) May 5, 2024
Whilst in hindsight some may argue that the action was bloody hilarious, at the time it caused a great deal of anguish for an incredible group of Quins fans that had made the journey over to the south of France, as well as all those fans watching through their telly boxes at home or elsewhere.
Speaking about the incident, one fan called him a “liability” to the team whilst another called him “petulant”.
The responses have been interesting, with one fan even suggesting a change in sport for the 33-year-old:
“Funny is one thing and stupidity quite another.stupidity is not a disability. It is an attitude. He should consider wrestling.”
Marler later gave his own thoughts on the matter, saying:
“Fucked it. Sorry @Harlequins fans were huge. Boys were incredible. Juvé”
As the ever loveable tyke, Marler was never going to stay in the Quins bad books for long, with one fan joking:
“Thought the ref was harsh when you playfully ruffled Ramos’ hair, no sense of humour…”
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