Joe Marler set to retire from international rugby.

[Mikey Brown]

[Mellsblue]

Poor mental health makes you do irrational things but if his attempts to get himself banned involved putting others in danger then I’ve no sympathy. However, the way he has conducted himself over the last few days is commendable.

[Which Tyler]

Had it been a deliberate, conscious thing, then I'd agree that he's lose sympathy for it; but it really doesn't look that way in either of those articles - more than previous his rationalising in hindsight, he thinks indiscipline was manifestation of his mental health.

ETA, those tweets seem to back that up - it reads to me as someone working through their issues with a counsellor/shrink, and identifying previous behaviours and triggers.

[Lizard]

Everyone knows of players who had the talent to go further but didn’t have the passion for it, or preferred doing something else. No one blinks an eye at those blokes, so why is anyone surprised that a guy who has actually given it a good go has decided that it’s not for him?

If my job involved working every weekend in winter and being away from my wife and kids all summer, I’d chuck it in, too. You couldn’t pay me enough to do that.

That said, I hope the RFU asks Joe for a proper exit interview to see how they might improve player care.

[Cameo]

The suspension comments were a bit odd but I csn't really believe he set out to get red carded. It may be more that he felt relieved when he did get suspended so if looking at it with hindsight

[Peat]

Had it been a deliberate, conscious thing, then I'd agree that he's lose sympathy for it; but it really doesn't look that way in either of those articles - more than previous his rationalising in hindsight, he thinks indiscipline was manifestation of his mental health.

ETA, those tweets seem to back that up - it reads to me as someone working through their issues with a counsellor/shrink, and identifying previous behaviours and triggers.

That's how I'm reading it too. Must be nasty to get that screwed up inside about it.

[Mush]

the articles are naturally sensationalising this. Listen to the podcast to hear Marler's comments before saying what he said and the context of the comments in a less than serious atmosphere. (I'm not saying he was joking, but the comments about his anxiety prior to joining up with the England squad need to be seen - or rather heard - in that light.)