Back in 2012, the Daily Mail took a bold swing at predicting England’s future stars — and let's just say... they might want to keep the receipts hidden.
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While we’ve all had a few shockers when it comes to crystal-ball gazing (trust us, we’ve been there), when it’s the Mail, it’s just that bit harder to resist a giggle.
Let’s dive in and see who boomed, who busted, and who we had completely forgotten existed…
15. Ben Ransom
- Status: Retired
- Clubs: Saracens, Bedford Blues, London Irish
- International? Not even close.
14. Marland Yarde
- Status: Retired? (Nobody’s quite sure)
- Current club: Free agent
- Clubs: London Irish, Harlequins, Sale Sharks
- International? 13 caps for England.
13. Jamie Elliott
- Status: Active
- Current club: Bedford Blues
- Clubs: Northampton Saints, Zebre
- International? 5 caps for England U20.
12. Manu Tuilagi
- Status: Active
- Current club: Bayonne
- Clubs: Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks
- International? Moved to France, now unavailable for England.
11. Charlie Walker
- Status: Active
- Current club: Ealing Trailfinders
- Clubs: Harlequins, Esher, Zebre
- International? England U20 and Sevens.
10. George Ford
- Status: Active
- Current club: Sale Sharks
- Clubs: Leicester Tigers, Leeds Tykes, Bath
- International? Currently sidelined through injury.
9. Dan Robson
- Status: Active
- Current club: Pau
- Clubs: Gloucester, Moseley, Wasps
- International? 14 caps for England.
1. Ross Harrison
- Status: Active
- Current club: Sale Sharks
- Clubs: Sedgley Park
- International? England Saxons and U20 honours.
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie
- Status: Active
- Current club: Sale Sharks
- Clubs: Plymouth Albion, Exeter Chiefs
- International? 49 caps for England and toured with the British & Irish Lions.
3. Kyle Sinckler
- Status: Active
- Current club: Toulon
- Clubs: Harlequins, Richmond, Ealing, Bristol
- International? Now unavailable following his move to France.
4. Dave Sisi
- Status: Active
- Current club: Zebre
- Clubs: London Irish, London Scottish, Bath, Yorkshire Carnegie
- International? 24 caps for Italy, after a switch from England U20.
5. Dom Barrow
- Status: Active
- Current club: Sale Sharks
- Clubs: Yorkshire Carnegie, Newcastle Falcons, Leicester Tigers, La Rochelle, Northampton Saints
- International? England U20 honours.
6. Matt Kvesic
- Status: Active
- Current club: Coventry
- Clubs: Scarlets, Gloucester, Worcester, Zebre
- International? 31 caps for England.
7. Jack Clifford (Captain)
- Status: Retired
- Clubs: Harlequins, Ealing, Esher
- International? 7 caps for England before injury sadly cut his career short.
8. Ross Moriarty
- Status: Active
- Current club: Dragons
- Clubs: Gloucester, Hartpury
- International? 54 caps for Wales — a star, but not for England!
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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