Chris Jones, BBC rugby union correspondent
As Marler himself has joked today, he has had a few international retirements before – but this time, at the age of 34 and with 95 caps, it is for real.
It’s quite fitting it’s happened in a week he hit the headlines for his comments about the Haka. Ever the character, Marler was rarely under the radar during his international career.
But despite the odd controversy, he was always a highly-respected team-mate and opponent, and an outstanding player – one of England’s best ever props, perhaps unlucky not to be a Test British and Irish Lion in 2017.
And while he didn’t play in Saturday’s agonising defeat by New Zealand, you can’t help thinking that if he had been on the field at the end, England may have got over the line.
