Joe Marler will discover on Wednesday if he is to be cited by the match commissioner for an incident that could extend his already lengthy disciplinary record.
According to the Bristol boss, the England and Quins prop said something offensive to Bristol flanker Jake Heenan.
“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,” Bears director of rugby Pat Lam said.
“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.”
The comments reportedly were connected to Heenan’s wife Adele.
Reacting to the incident, one fan wrote: “I’m baffled why Joe Marler seems to be loved by RU fans. To me, he’s an irritant and causes trouble where there’s no need for it. Get on with scrummaging, rather than making cheap gags at other players’ expense”
Another said: “Never understood the fascination with that Marler, always thought he’s a horrible, unfunny idiot.”
A third commented: “Joe Marler, you can’t preach mental health and be an face for it in the game, yet be known to make personal jabs at the opposition that extend past ‘banter’ or even get to the point of committing sexual assault.”
Joe Marler incident:
LIST: Five of the most BRUTAL rugby insults ever said…
Great Rugby Union Insults.
We’ve collected some of the best rugby insults ever.
1. Who are you?
A young player was making his Premiership debut at scrum-half. He was playing against Andy Gomersall. He tried to be funny at the first scrum and said to Gomersall “don’t hurt your back putting the ball in, old man”. He retorted “I would give you some abuse, but I have no idea who the f@*k you are!”
Ouch.