The English have a gift for producing snarling pantomime villains. Born to rule god monsters who are wont to stand over you shouting ‘Welcome to the House of Pain!!’ after a scrum goes down.
The Scots, French and Irish may want to beat England each year as much as Wales, but two factors make this the big one in the northern part of the globe.
First, Wales’ national identity is intrinsically linked to rugby – a game that unites a nation and cuts across class barriers in a way in never has in England means there is a particular edge to this match (often to Wales’ detriment).
Secondly, Wales’ superior record against England compared to the other northern hemispheres means this is no one-way rivalry. Welsh captain Phil Bennett once gave a team talk that went: “We’ve been exploited, raped, controlled and punished by the English – and that’s who you are playing this afternoon.”
In that light, here are the most disliked English rugby players in the history, in the opinion of a diehard Wales supporter.
#5. Brian Moore
Wales Online: “Snarling, punchy and prone to reading extracts from Henry V in the dressing room, Moore represented everything Welsh fans loved to hate about that England team from the mid-90s.”
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