#2. Manu Tuilagi
During the Fiji quarter-final match, a particular moment left some viewers puzzled while watching the broadcast. It involved an interaction between Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marler.
Upon initial observation, it appeared as if Tuilagi and Marler were engaging in a confrontational exchange. Tuilagi seemingly pushed Marler with his chest, right in the presence of referee Mathieu Reynal. In response, Marler decisively pushed Tuilagi, removing him from the camera frame entirely.
In the subsequent semi-final, the two players had another heated encounter. This time, Marler confronted Manu Tuilagi, expressing his displeasure after Tuilagi’s excessive celebration led to the reversal of a penalty awarded to England.
One fan wrote: “Some tension it seems, between joe marler and manu tuilagi the past few weeks, first joe shoved manu last week, now he’s having to tell manu to pack it in… interesting.”
Another said: “Marler is going to deck Tuilagi in a minute, and it will be well deserved- losing his head less than 20 minutes in is poor.”
A third said: “Beef between Marler and Tuilagi?”
#3. Sir Clive Woodward
Woodward tore apart Eddie Jones’ side during a webinar, slamming Marler and fellow prop Dan Cole for their behaviour in a press conference prior to the loss against South Africa back in November. This wasn’t the first time the 2003 World Cup-winning coach called out the prop.
After reading an article on the Rugby Pass website highlighting Woodward’s comments, he tweeted him directly, saying: “Change the record Sir Clive – you should be grateful you can ‘milk the cow’ for another 3 years.”