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28th December 2022
01:20pm GMT

"I brought Jake over from New Zealand to Connacht and to Bristol. He’s like a son to our family and I have never seen him like that. "It’s best to say one of the areas we are all trying to work on is the spirit of the game. I love Joe Marler but something was said and there was a reaction from Jake 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. Jake reacted to something that was said. That’s all I know what happened."It has been reported by Rugbypass that Joe Marler twice made disparaging comments, directed at Heenan, in which he suggested his mother was a sex worker. Heenan, who helped Connacht to the PRO12 title in 2016, has spoken openly about his troubled upbringing in New Zealand. He was arrested four times before he was 18 and spent a period of his teenage years homeless before he found direction, and support, through rugby. During his time with the province, he did volunteer work with Dóchas don Óige, in Galway, which helps young offenders and troubled youths. Steven Luatua, a Bristol teammate of Heenan, tweeted, 'I only found out [what Joe Marler said] on the way home. You and I would’ve done the same. That was absolute bulls**t from Marler.' The Kiwi then sought an apology from Marler, via Twitter, and the England international responded:
'Yep. You're right. I'm sorry Jake Heenan. Piss poor from me. Owe you a pint/coffee in the new year.'https://twitter.com/JoeMarler/status/1607894821284233216 Joe Marler could now pick up a ban over his comments to Jake Heenan. Back in 2016, Marler was sanctioned, but escaped a playing ban, for referring to Wales prop Samson Lee as 'gypsy boy'. A year later, he baited James Haskell into a fight by splashing water in his face. Haskell was yellow-carded for the incident while Marler played on. In the past 10 seasons, the 32-year-old has received 13 yellow cards and a (2018) red card against Sale Sharks. Related articles.
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