England fined by World Rugby for haka response that stunned the world

England prop Joe Marler has issued an apology after branding the haka "ridiculous" and calling for it to be scrapped ahead of his nation's clash with New Zealand on Saturday.

The 34-year-old was met with angry response after writing on social media that the famous pre-match ritual "needs binning". He then added: "It's only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply," before deleting his X account.

Marler's comments drew criticism from those in New Zealand, with All Blacks coach Scott Robertson saying the prop could have chosen his words more carefully on the subject. England captain Jamie George also distanced himself from the remarks as he admitted his team-mate had "prodded the bear" ahead of this weekend's showdown at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

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The Harlequins front row later apologised for his comments as he reinstated his X account and posted: "Context is everything. Just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture. Some wild responses. Big Love x." He then added: "Also needed to satisfy my narcissism."

Marler, who earlier in the week left the England camp for "personal reasons" is famously outspoken but this wasn't the first time that England had found themselves in hot water over the haka.

At the 2019 World Cup, a sensational semi-final clash between the Red Roses and the All Blacks was preceded, as ever, by a performance of the haka out on the pitch. World Rugby laws state that teams must stay within their own half while the performance goes on, but England and then-coach Eddie Jones had a different idea.

Instead of standing in a straight line to meet the challenge, England's players arranged themselves in a V formation as New Zealand advanced towards them. The formation meant that several stars - namely Marler, Ben Youngs, Elliot Daly, Billy Vunipola, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Mark Wilson - ended up standing in the All Blacks' half of the pitch, therefore breaching the rules.

While referee Nigel Owens ushered them back, the breach landed England with a £2,000 fine from World Rugby ahead of their World Cup final clash with South Africa.

A statement from the governing body at the time read: “England have been fined for a breach of Rugby World Cup 2019 tournament rules relating to cultural challenges, which states that no players from the team receiving the challenge may advance beyond the halfway line.

“This is in line with the protocol which operates globally across the international game and is adopted by major international tournaments.

“All fines issued at Rugby World Cup 2019 are being donated to World Rugby’s official charitable programme, ChildFund Pass It Back, which is transforming the lives of more than 25,000 disadvantaged children in Asia. The matter is closed and World Rugby will not make further comment.”

Following the match, which England won 19-7, captain Owen Farrell explained: "We didn't just want to stand in a flat line and let them come at us." Team-mate Manu Tuilagi added that Jones had been the mastermind behind the V formation, as he said: "Everyone wanted to show that we were ready and together. It was something different that I think Eddie suggested."