Google Favourites <\/a>for nonstop RUCK content!<\/p>\nPollock was even approached by a stranger at England\u2019s team hotel in Johannesburg and warned that South Africans were \u201ccoming for him\u201d.<\/p>\n
Northampton captain George Furbank revealed: \u201cWe had one person come up to him in the hotel and say \u2018South Africans are coming for you\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was actually a Congolese guy who had just finished watching the football and he came up to him and said \u2018you\u2019re public enemy number one!\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pollock has also found himself targeted by Springbok supporters online, with his celebrations, confidence and outspoken personality already making him one of the biggest villains in the game.<\/p>\n
However, at just 21 and still in the early stages of his Test career, Pollock has some way to go before earning a place alongside rugby\u2019s all-time great pantomime villains.<\/p>\n
Before we go any further, an important disclaimer: nobody at RUCK personally hates any of the players on this list.<\/p>\n
The headline is deliberately provocative, but this is really a countdown of players who divided opinion, wound up opposition supporters or became major pantomime villains during and after their careers.<\/p>\n
Some were hated because they were brilliant. Others because of their behaviour on the pitch. A few saw public perceptions change dramatically because of controversies away from rugby.<\/p>\n
With that cleared up, here are 10 of the most divisive rugby players of all-time.<\/p>\n
10. Austin Healey<\/p>\n
Few players enjoyed winding up opponents quite like Austin Healey.<\/p>\n
Nicknamed \u201cThe Leicester Lip\u201d, the former England and British & Irish Lions back rarely missed an opportunity to get under the skin of an opponent.<\/p>\n
His confidence often crossed into arrogance in the eyes of rival supporters, while his willingness to speak his mind made him one of the most divisive characters of his generation.<\/p>\n
Healey was the classic player supporters loved when he was wearing their shirt and absolutely despised when he was playing against them.<\/p>\n
9. Yoann Huget<\/p>\n
Yoann Huget was a hugely talented winger, but his reputation for theatrics made him deeply unpopular with opposition supporters.<\/p>\n
The former France international was regularly accused by fans of exaggerating contact and going to ground far too easily.<\/p>\n
In a sport that prides itself on toughness, Huget\u2019s perceived willingness to make the most of challenges made him an easy target.<\/p>\n
French supporters celebrated his tries. Opposition fans often found themselves furious with everything else.<\/p>\n
8. Quade Cooper<\/p>\n
At the peak of his rivalry with New Zealand, Quade Cooper was arguably the most hated man in All Blacks rugby.<\/p>\n
The Australia playmaker became public enemy number one in New Zealand following a series of confrontations with Richie McCaw.<\/p>\n
Every touch was booed. Every mistake was celebrated. Every meeting with the All Blacks felt personal.<\/p>\n
Cooper was brilliant, unpredictable and never afraid of the spotlight, making him the perfect villain.<\/p>\n
7. Stuart Hogg<\/p>\n
Stuart Hogg was once one of the most popular and recognisable players in British rugby.<\/p>\n
The former Scotland captain enjoyed a glittering international career, winning 100 caps for his country and touring three times with the British & Irish Lions.<\/p>\n
However, personal issues away from the pitch dramatically changed public perceptions of the former full-back following his initial retirement in 2023.<\/p>\n
Hogg has since returned to rugby with Montpellier in France, where he has continued his playing career largely away from the British media spotlight.<\/p>\n
Once one of the biggest faces in British rugby, Hogg now finds himself far less visible to supporters back home following a dramatic few years on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n
CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Henry Pollock has rapidly become one of the most polarising players in world rugby. The 21-year-old England back-row…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-674713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}