LIST: 8 great England players opposition loved to hate...

Swearing at referee’s, involving himself in scraps and eye gouging accusations have all led to Dylan Hartley becoming one of the most vilified rugby players of the modern era.

Snarling, punchy and prone to reading extracts from Henry V in the dressing room, Moore represented everything opposition fans loved to hate about that England team from the mid-90s.

Poster boy and captain when the English team was at its most pompous and boring.

Ok, so he's not a rugby player, but we simply couldn't leave him out.  You sense Ireland, Scotland or Wales could reach the World Cup final and Inverdale would still find a way to present it as the 'appetiser' ahead of the 'main course' that is England's Bowls team v Canada. 

It almost feels a little harsh to include the swallow-diving winger. But, include him we will, if only for the utter ridiculousness of that 'iconic' celebration that almost defines him as much as his inability to tackle.

Yes, it's our old friend Austin. A man who achieved the impossible by becoming an even more annoying pundit than he was player.

Whereas Healey always appeared to be 'hamming it up' a bit in his role as the cheeky chappie pantomime villain, Brown gives off entirely different vibes. His passion sometimes leads to him getting involved where he shouldn't and more often than not winding up opposition fans. Actually one of the nicest blokes away from the pitch.

Farrell fits the label “our guy” better than most, meaning you love to hate him unless he’s in your squad. Then you’d go to the end’s of the earth to defend him. High shoulders become textbook tackles, so on, and so forth.