England star Joe Marler U-turns on 's***house' antics after controversial haka comments

England rugby union star has walked back on his controversial comments about the haka - after receiving "an education" on the matter.

Marler had earlier in the lead-up to England's match against at Twickenham. The 34-year-old, who will miss the upcoming match after leaving the camp for personal reasons, received a considerable backlash to his comments and subsequently deactivated his X account.

"It's ridiculous," he initially wrote. "It's only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like did last week."

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson fired back, though, . And now the England veteran has made a U-turn on his controversial words.

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“The Haka for us is a custom. It’s a part of who we are," Robertson said at a press conference. "It’s our DNA. We believe it’s a great tradition of rugby."

Returning to social media, Marler wrote: "Hey rugby fans. Just wanted to jump on here and say sorry to any New Zealand fans I upset with my poorly articulated tweet earlier in the week. I meant no malice in asking for it to be binned, just want to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction

"How good were the Cockerill/Hewitt, Campese, France ‘07, Tokyo ‘19 or Samoa vs England rugby league responses? Create some entertaining drama before kick off. My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was s***house and I should have done better at explaining things.

"I’m grateful for the education received on how important the Haka is to the New Zealand culture and hope others have a better understanding too. Now roll on 3pm on Saturday for a mega rugby occasion. England by 6pts/ I’ll get back in my attention seeking box now. Big Love x."

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Former England captain Dylan Hartley attempted to put Marler's comments into context before the U-turn. "Context is really important here because I don't think Joe Marler is saying, let’s get rid of the haka, because the haka is an iconic part of the theatre of rugby. I think it’s really important, it gives the sport an identity," Hartley told .

"If you ask me, it’s just Joe being Joe. He’s a wind-up merchant and I think he knows he’ll get a reaction to what he’s said. I’m sure that the New Zealand camp will be using this as fuel to add to the fire before the match on Saturday.

"Even if you’re not a rugby fan, you know the haka. Americans who might not have a clue about the game know about the haka – it adds tremendous value to our game.

"Culturally, it’s important for New Zealand as well. They're a small country that punch well above they’re weight and are very proud of their identity and culture."