7. Dylan Hartley (2013)
In May 2013 Hartley was sent off in the Premiership final against Leicester and banned for 11 weeks after being found guilty of verbally abusing a match official. Despite initially being selected, this act cost Hartley his place in the squad picked to head to Australia.
But, after having also had to miss out on the 2015 Rugby World Cup on home soil, Hartley has gone from strength to strength since taking over the England captaincy under Eddie Jones.
The Kiwi-born hooker has guided England to the Grand Slam in 2016 – their first in 13 years – and then to an historic Wallaby whitewash in their three Test tour against Australia the following summer.