A skirmish broke out after Quins prop said something to the Bristol breakaway
What did Joe Marler say to Jake Heenan?
Near the end of the first half in the Gallagher Premiership match between Harlequins and Bristol, a soon-to-be scrum blew up into a ruckus. Bristol Bears breakaway Jake Heenan was incensed, having to be held back by two team-mates. The target of his ire was Quins prop Joe Marler, who made a comment that enraged Heenan.
It is not yet known what Marler said, but the loosehead has since apologised, following the 15-12 loss to Bristol at The Stoop. After Bears leader Steven Luatua replied to a tweet from former England international Andy Goode, saying “That was absolute bull—- from Marler” and: “Surely Jake Heenan deserves an apology. Fair?”
On Tuesday evening Marler replied to that saying: “Yep. You’re right. I’m sorry Jake Heenan – p*** poor from me. Owe you a pint/coffee in the new year.”
Immediately after the match, Pat Lam said on BT Sport: “I love Joe Marler (but) I brought Jake over from New Zealand to Connacht and to here. He is like a son to our family and I have never seen him like that. It is best to say one of the areas we are all trying to work on is the spirit of the game.
“Something was said and there was a reaction from Jake that I have never seen before. We are all custodians of the game, players, coaches, and one thing we all value and we all work hard to keep is the right values and spirit. I will leave that to other people. We will just crack on.”
Also pitchside after the contest, Quins boss Tabai Matson, Harlequins head coach, said: “He does tease people, so I’m not sure to be fair. I’m just commenting on what I saw from the sideline. I don’t know what was said but he’s quite antagonistic. He’s had to play against and I thought Dicko (Dickson) handled it well.”
Marler now waits to see if there will be disciplinary action from the RFU, and what they can find out about what was said.
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