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 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.

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.