Dan Cole made light of the international retirement of his old mate Joe Marler by revealing that he told the now former England prop: “Who the f--- am I going to room with, Joe? You’ve stitched me up here.

England prop Dan Cole was surprised by timing of Joe Marler’s retirement - Marler called time on his 95-cap Test career on Sunday morning.

England prop Joe Marler has retired from international rugby after 95 tests since 2012. The 34-year-old Marler was in the squad for the autumn series but left England’s camp on Monday for personal reasons.