The now-retired Joe Marler has belatedly received some support for his controversial comments about the haka. Marler caused a stir when in the build-up to England’s clash with New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday, he took to social media to call for authorities to get rid of the famous pre-game war dance, but later apologised and claimed it had only been meant as a joke.

But his behaviour was criticised by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, and the prop was widely mocked on Saturday after the tourists sealed a dramatic 24-22 win over Steve Borthwick’s side.

By then, Marler had left the England camp for personal reasons and has since retired from international rugby, although has claimed his decision had nothing to do with the backlash over his comments. 

New Zealand now face Ireland on Friday night in what is expected to be one of the biggest clashes of the Autumn series, and a former player for the home side has now stuck up for Marler. When offering his apology, the 34-year-old had said he merely believed opposition sides should be permitted to respond to the haka, a view Gordon D’Arcy agrees with.

“Former England pop Joe Marler may have chosen the wrong words to express his views on facing the haka in the lead-up to last week’s match, but I think the sentiment he was trying to portray is not wrong,” he wrote in the Irish Times. “The haka needs to be answered in some fashion or else it becomes one-sided pageantry.”

The ex-centre, who won 82 caps for his country and also toured with the British and Irish Lions, cited past examples of where teams had accepted the challenge of the haka without being disrespectful. And he argued such occasions added to the theatre for both players and fans.

“Whether it was England during their tour of 2003, South Africa periodically in the Rugby Championship, France in and out of World Cups and now more recently Ireland, the haka is taken as it is meant to be, a challenge,” he added. “The aforementioned teams had the ability to accept the challenge, and that tension is felt right across the stadium, shared by the players facing each other as well as the fans.”

In 2008, then Wales captain Ryan Jones instructed his side to go nose-to-nose with the New Zealand players as they encroached during the haka. It led to a historic stare-down, with officials eventually having to step in after both sides refused to turn their backs and get in place for kick-off.

On Saturday, England players were less confrontational, slowly encroaching towards the halfway line before staying there and standing their ground. Throughout the routine, fans loudly sang ‘Swing Low’ in a bid to drown out the noise.

In his pre-match press conference, Ireland coach Andy Farrell avoided the issue, instead opting to focus on his side’s Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat to the All Blacks last year. And he denied his squad would be motivated by revenge in Dublin.

“No, it’s not a factor. That’s the truth,” he said. “We want to constantly be up there competing with the best so if that’s not motivation within itself. I mean playing against the All Blacks has always brought that edge to any type of game, his is a top-level test match that everybody wants to be involved in.”