Sebastien Negri followed up his dominant hit on England captain Owen Farrell with some nasty afters.
The Italian flanker pinned Farrell down with a forearm to the face to the dismay of many viewers.
One fan wrote: “I’m surprised the Italian player wasn’t penalised for putting his hands-on Owen Farrell‘s face and pushing his head into the ground.”
A second commented: “Contact with the eye area? If that had been against anyone other than Owen Farrell they’d have been sent off.”
“I can see why Steve Borthwick is enraged. If it was Owen Farrell’s forearm in Negri’s face, you know he’d be marched back 10!” said a third.
Another said: “Nasty stuff i mean i hate owen farrell as much as the next guy but come on”
A fifth wrote: “No idea how the ref ignored the Italian laying on Farrell with hand in face. Typical Southern hemisphere ref.”
“Pantomime villain” – Every home nations most hated player by rival fans in the Six Nations
World class rugby players don’t take losing well, but some take it worse than others.
But who are the players that rugby fans just love to hate, and why?
#1. Owen Farrell (England)
Could it be anybody else to start? 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.
The England captain, also known as ‘Shoulder boy’ for his high tackling, does himself no favours with his poor tackling technique.
Although he’s currently serving a two-match ban, the fact he often seems to get away with it doesn’t help either.