A number of England stars are among the most overrated players in the world according to a post on the Rugby Union Reddit.
Reddit user A_sad_british_bear has compiled his most overrated XV in WorldRugby and it's highly contentious.
The overrated XV is made up of players from England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Naturally, his most overrated XV got the treatment on social media. Here's some reaction from other users:
One fan wrote: "That's probably one of the worst overrated takes I've ever seen,"
A second said: "he Itoje take is just dated and wrong. Itoje’s so-called dip in form has been the go-to description of him on rugby union reddit and in the media for the past couple of years, (which I found unfair and over-simplistic given the stratospheric bar he set himself between 2017-2020). That said, he had one hell of a World Cup and came back to Premiership and got man of the match."
Another commented: "Steyn as in Kyle Steyn for overrated? You may want to lay aff the glue lad,"
Check out his full selection below:
1. Pierre Schoeman (yes he's good, but I don't stop hearing 'Burgh fans talking about him. I've seen better looseheads at Schoeman's club let alone for his country at this point. I like him too don't get me wrong, but stop overlooking his issues as a player.)
2. Harry Thacker (highest scoring hooker, yes, but compared to other no.2's he had relatively poor scrummaging and his lineout throws are a bit slow even for far pitches. In theory this should confuse other sides but Bristol have some of of the poorest lineouts in the prem ATM.)
3. Marco Riccioni (a lot of raw power, yes, but has a very static role and is easy to read which rucks he's going to hit and how he's going to carry, lift, scrimmage ect. Just raw power and this is one of the reasons saints won against Saracens as their plays are so predictable now.)
4. Maro Itoje [as an England supporter this hurts to say, but jesus christ has Itoje been off form lately. It hurts a boatload to say it because I just want ma boi back :(
5. Ryan Baird (hasn't been controlling lineouts as he used to and his carrying feels a bit weak at the minute compared to how he could carry.)
6. Juan Martin Gonzalez (made silly decisions against Saints that he's made before and like Riccioni, is an easy read.
7. Tom Curry (ditto as Gonzalez)
8. Zach Mercer (strikes me as the same kind of player as Smith. Just needs more time to develop as he's just not quite the full package he could be.
9. Nathan Doak (after a few good games I see him being talked about left right and centre. Personally, I don't see why he's better than a Mitchell or a Care myself.)
10. George Ford (at club level, NOT international because for Sale he's just been less impactful this season compared to last season going week by week. Could just be me though.)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (doesn't do anything like as much on the defence as he does on the offence and just feels a bit too readable at the moment. Genuinely feels like one of Edinburgh's only weak points at the moment in the starting XV)
12. Henry Slade (speaks for itself doesn't it? 😂)
13, Manu Tuliagi (I'm going to get thrown overboard for this one but stick with me here. Yes he's big, yes he's fast, but when it comes to set plays he doesn't really contribute as most 12 and 13's do. He's not setting a defence but he's a big hitter. He's essentially the Parisse of centres where he does all the flashy stuff without contributing to the fundamentals.)
14. Kyle Steyn (ditto to Tuliagi)
15. Henry Arundell (much better in an 11 or 14 shirt, and his performance against Quins was poor overall. Doesn't move the backline as much as he should and I think his kicking game needs development to help versatility.
