I’m the funniest man in rugby and broke huge England record but have battled dark moments and now want World Cup glory

Joe Marler has had quite the career both on and off the rugby pitch.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed enormous highs and suffered horrendous lows, but he's now looking to help England win the Rugby World Cup.

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The Harlequins star has already played a big role to get England to the semi-finals, but he isn't finished yet.

Lifting the Webb Ellis Cup would be special for all of Steve Borthwick's players, but given what Marler has been through, it would be mark an incredible comeback.

But first, he and England have to defeat their 2019 final opponents South Africa.

Marler was born in Eastbourne and started his career with Haywards Heath before joining the Harlequins academy and making his debut in 2009.

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He has played at the Stoop ever since and has won four major honours, including two Premiership titles.

For England, Marler has 82 caps and three Six Nations titles.

But it hasn't all been plain sailing for the prop.

Marler has had his fair share of controversial moments on the field and dark ones away from the public eye.

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He has admitted to having suicidal thoughts and is a representative for CALM [Campaign Against Living Miserably].

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He is now using his experiences to try and help other people.

Speaking to about his struggles last year, he said: “I’ve done some work on myself, I’ve learnt loads in the last couple of years and picked up tools and hopefully gained more self-awareness, but there’s still stuff I haven’t dealt with.

“The biggest breakdown I had was back in 2018, the day after a massive row with Daisy [his wife], crying in my coach’s arms, saying, ‘I don’t want to be here any more. I’m a bad person.’"

Marler is doing much better these days, but it's not something that people ever truly get over, so the fact he's actively trying to help others speaks volumes to the kind of person he is.

And Marler has a great way of dealing with things, being widely known as the funniest man in rugby.

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His reputation as a funny man on and off the field is so legendary that are scattered across YouTube showing Marler in all his glory.

Some of his highlights include brilliant pre and post-match interviews, winding up opponents and referees on the pitch and some live singing on the Jonathan Ross Show.

He's also appeared on talkSPORT many times and left guests and listeners in tears from laughing too much.

Marler is a unique character and you only have to watch one of these compilations to know why he's the funniest man in his sport.

He even provided a hilarious but genius moment during this World Cup.

The Harlequins star started England's win over Japan and provided an incredible assist for Courtney Lawes when he nodded the ball through for his teammate to score.

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He had no idea how it happened, which made it even better to watch, and after the match, he jokingly claimed it was Cristiano Ronaldo-esque.

He said: “Here’s some pointers on how to score a great header.

“You need to get in position early, you need to have clear comms to the playmaker so he can whip it in and find the target.

“You also need to jump, or someone just throws the ball really hard at your head.

“I’d like to think it ranks up there with Ronaldo and the way he used to get up in the air, but if I’m honest it was more like when John Prescott got egged.”

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Since then, Marler has broken England's long-standing bench press record.

In a , the massive prop can be seen lifting an incredible 190kg.

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But after smashing this challenge, his attention will be fixed squarely on playing South Africa this evening.

Marler was part of the 2019 team that finished as runners-up to Springboks, so to get some revenge and go one step further this time would mean everything to this man who has been to hell and back.