Joe Marler was quick to step in after Manchester United suffered an embarrassing defeat to Brighton last weekend.
The prop forward was thrust into the spotlight after his strange intervention led to England’s second try, 34-12 win over Japan.
Steve Borthwick’s side looked far from fluid in the match but finished victorious after putting four tries past an organized Japanese defense in Nice on Sunday.
As England pressed for a score of 13–12, George Ford’s half fired a pass to Will Stuart but it went through his hands and into Marler’s head, leaving captain Courtney Lawes unknowingly behind the defense.
Marler himself quickly posted a tongue-in-cheek TikTok comparing his header to Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous header, and during his post-match conference he claimed to draw inspiration from Brighton.
Joe Marler joked that he took inspiration from Brighton’s 3-1 win over Manchester United for his own header
The Seagulls recorded a memorable win at Old Trafford and recorded four league wins on the trot against Erik ten Hag and Co
The ball crashed off his head and left Courtney Lawes behind and under the posts
Speaking to Sky Sports after Sunday’s win over Japan that put England top of Group C, Marler joked that he had prepared for headers ahead of the match.
“I was practicing with Dan Cole and Jamie George during our activation at the hotel, we were doing some of that (mimes heading the ball) which got us fired up,” the 33-year-old claimed .
‘I get huge inspiration from Roberto De Zerbi’s mighty Seagulls who did a demolition job at United yesterday. Just getting huge inspiration from them and helping the boys score.”
And Brighton were quick to respond to X, formerly known as Twitter, joking that there might be a place in the starting XI for the prop if he was interested in a cross-code switch.
‘Great win last night, good luck for the rest of the tournament! Call us when it’s ready, we need you for set pieces,” the Seagulls manager joked.
Teammate and stand-in captain Lawes – who took advantage of the bizarre deflection – jokingly praised Marler’s efforts, adding: ‘That was a decent header from Joe Marler. Sometimes luck falls in your favor, so I’ll accept it.’
Marler is from Eastbourne, about 20 miles down the south coast from the Seagulls’ home.
England would score two more tries as they secured their all-important bonus point with the win.
Brighton’s win over United sparked boos over Ten Hag’s decision to withdraw Rasmus Hojlund as the Red Devils make a shaky start to the 2023-2024 season
England star Marler compared himself to Cristiano Ronaldo in a hilarious TikTok posted after the win in Japan
After Lewis Ludlam passed first for Steve Borthwick’s side, Lawes went under the posts to put England ahead on a converted score for the first time in the encounter.
Freddie Steward then used a well-timed kick across Ford’s field for the third, landing deftly after claiming the high ball.
Joe Marchant then scored the extra point with the last play of the game, with the outside center diving for the line.
As for Marler’s favored Seagulls, it was Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro with the all-important goals, while Hannibal Mejbri’s 73rd minute effort offered little consolation for the embattled Ten Hag.