Out-of-favor England prop Joe Marler has been criticized by ex-Springboks assistant Swys de Bruin for some of his antics with Harlequins during last Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup Round-of-16 defeat at the Stormers. 

The London club exited the tournament on the back of their defeat in Cape Town, and it was the following day, during a review of the match on the Final Whistle program on Super Sport, that the front-rower was singled out for his in-game mischief.

“I’m not sure he is above board with all the stuff he is doing,” claimed de Bruin, who stepped away from the Springboks prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which culminated in a final in Yokohama between South Africa and England.

An initial clip was shown of Marler being a nuisance after a scum, but it was a second clip involving a first-half incident with Deon Fourie that most drew the ire of de Bruin. 

That showed Marler reaching across at a breakdown and grabbing Fourie in an uncompromising position.

“Look what he does now, he is offside, he goes and he grabs the hooker and tighthead,” began de Bruin, commentating on the aftermath of the scrum in the first clip.

“You can’t do that. Now, he walks casually around. They [Harlequins] do steal the ball, and he now becomes the scrum-half. He will pass the ball to the backfield. That is what you call a make-your-own-arrangements pass.

“Now, here is Chapter 2 of the Joe Marler story,” explained du Bruin. “They [the Stormers] are defending. He comes in, and look what happens. He is coming in on the clean. It’s not so kosher what he is doing there, and Deon Fourie doesn’t enjoy it. Deon said, ‘No mate, that’s not on, you can’t do that, it’s just not rugby.’ He goes down and gets treated.

“But I want you to have a look at what he [Marler] really did, what really annoyed Deon Fourie… I have got to pick my words correctly… That is the last thing that you want, to get that treatment. That was Joe Marler. Do we need those characters? Yes. But maybe we don’t need that last action so much.”

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Marler wasn’t cited after the game, which the Stormers won 32-28 to book their quarterfinal spot away to Exeter this Saturday.