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The rugby world flocks to Australia this summer for the Lions tour, Joe Marler has decided to tread a different path. There are corporate gigs available on every corner Down Under over the next few weeks but Marler won’t be on the gravy train.
In his first off-season since retiring, he will be bashing his way around padel courts, holidaying with his family in Italy and getting familiar with a mansion where turncoats and murderers lurk in the shadows.
‘I’m going away for a few weeks to Scotland,’ explains Marler, who was recently announced as a contestant in the upcoming season of Celebrity Traitors.
‘Let’s call it a work trip. I suspect I’ll get on there and no one will have a clue who I am. They’ll be like, “Are you here to fit the mics?” I’m a big fan of the show. I’m really excited to meet the national treasure that is Stephen Fry.’
Marler was known for his dark arts on the rugby pitch — a self-confessed ‘s**thouse’.
‘Let’s be honest, I wasn’t a very good s**thouse on the rugby pitch. I always got caught. Perhaps I’d be described as a traitor on the pitch but this event could be a whole different ball game. It’s one thing watching it on TV and thinking, “Oh, that will be easy”, but we’ll see.’
Joe Marler admits he was a 's***house' on the rugby pitch - now he has the chance to apply that ethos on The Traitors
The former England prop announced his retirement from professional rugby last November
Marler enjoyed a 16-year career in the sport but reckons people may not know who he is
Life has moved on quickly for the prop, who toured with the Lions under Warren Gatland in 2017. He will be watching the 2025 Australia series from afar.
Unsurprisingly, he is a big fan of breakthrough star Henry Pollock. The 20-year-old back-row forward has rattled rugby’s establishment with his non-conformist swagger and Marler believes he could become a key figure in Andy Farrell’s squad.
‘I love Pollock. I love what he’s about. S**thousery of the highest order. Long may it continue. Not just being a s**thouse for the sake of it, like I was. This is who he is. This is what he stands for. And he’s a bloody good rugby player. It’s brilliant, look at the noise it’s created around the game. I hope that doesn’t stop him from doing his thing.
‘I’m sure he’ll give it a good crack to make the Test team but there are some unreal operators in that back row. If Tom Curry’s on form, he’s one of the best players in the world. Pollock might get on the bench and then he can bring that explosive nature.
‘I’ll be looking out for the England boys, to be honest. You can’t not watch the Lions, it’s massive. It’s just so good that it’s a proper Lions tour again. No disrespect to the boys that went on it, but that 2021 tour during Covid doesn’t count. To have the sea of red back in Australia is good. There’s a lot of good news stories around rugby at the moment. Pollock Mania. R360…’
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat at the mention of rugby’s rebel league, Marler moves the conversation on to his new love of padel. He is sitting courtside at the Cupra Pro Am Padel Tour 2025, recovering between matches as he finds new ways to curb his competitive instincts.
‘I started playing padel at the World Cup in 2023 and fell in love with it,’ he says. ‘I retired and posted something on social media about padel and next thing, Nox, a padel brand, asked me to become a brand ambassador. I told them, “You do know I’m crap?” but next thing I’m being sent to Barcelona to get schooled by these 16-year-olds.
‘It gives me a bit of competition to keep going, now I don’t have rugby. It’s also about meeting people who say, “Have you thought about this as a career?”’
He is a huge fan of Henry Pollock but reckons he has his work cut out to unseat other stars
Tom Curry is 'one of the best players in the world' and could see Pollock forced to be a sub
Marler tells Mail Sport's Nik Simon that he is looking forward to going on holiday with his kids
He is trying to take a step back from the sport but still helps out sometimes with Team England
Marler is excited to meet Stephen Fry when he goes on The Traitors with other celebrities
Marler adds: ‘I’m still trying to work out what life outside of rugby looks like. I considered going out to Australia and doing some corporate stuff but it’s my first summer off and the kids are buzzing. It’s the first time we’ve been able to book a holiday that’s not last minute and I’m really enjoying that side of it.
‘I still keep my toe in the rugby water with the Team England stuff on welfare provisions for the players, which is a tricky landscape. I’m not trying to distance myself from the game, but I’m trying to take a step back and work out what’s next. I feel happy.
‘There is stuff at the back of my head that I have to suppress quite a lot, where I’m constantly s**tting myself about what the next 40 years look like.
‘Have you got a job? Can I come with you to Australia to hold the camera?! It’s a tricky one, trying to establish a new identity after doing something for 17 years.’
l Cupra is the proud sponsor of the Pro Am Padel Tour 2025. For information visit.cupraofficial.co.uk
