Top 10 Names in Rugby to Follow on Twitter in 2015
Social media has opened the way for sports men and women to divulge opinions, images and sometimes idiotic utterances that would hitherto never have come to light.
Whether this has enriched the lives of those who follow their sports is a question probably best left to a group of Ph.D. students.
The fact is Twitter is here, and rugby players are on it.
Some of them and the people who cover the sport even have some rather interesting and amusing things to say or show us using the medium.
Here are 10 worth following in 2015.
10. Matt Giteau
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If English fans think Steffon Armitage deserves to be picked for England, imagine how Australian supporters must feel knowing they won't be seeing Matt Giteau at this year’s World Cup.
Toulon’s exiled Wallaby is still one of the greatest centres on the planet and is loving life down on the Mediterranean coast.
His Twitter feed would seem testament to that.
9. David Flatman
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Flatman has effortlessly moved into punditry following retirement.
As a player, he should have had an awful lot more England caps, but injury thwarted him.
He is now forging a successful double act with Mark Durden-Smith as summariser on ITV4’s Premiership highlights show and is a weekly columnist for Sport magazine.
8. Will Greenwood
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Green is an England World Cup winner and excellent pundit on Sky’s rugby coverage. His insights into the game via his Twitter account are well worth a follow, particularly in a World Cup year.
He is also a massive fan of the darts and went into celeb-spotting overdrive with some cracking pictures peppering his timeline during his visit to the Ally Pally.
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7. Austin Healey
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Austin Healey was never short of a thing or two to say as a player and is equally verbose now as a member of BT Sport’s stable of rugby commentators and presenters.
He seemed to curry a barrage of abuse from Northampton fans before Christmas and has gone quiet since then, but with 109,000 followers, he is bound to be back antagonising someone else before too long.
6. Mike Phillips
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Wales and Racing Metro scrum-half Phillips has had his moments when it comes to off-field controversy.
But his Twitter spat during last season’s Six Nations with One Direction’s Niall Horan, per BBC.co.uk was an entertaining aside more than a full-blown controversy.
Horan branded the No. 9 an "arrogant idiot" after a shoving match with Rob Kearney during Ireland’s Six Nations win, which prompted the Lions man to invite the singer along to training.
So, keep an eye on Phillips this year. With a World Cup and the Six Nations on the horizon, he may well provide some light 140-character-based amusement.
5. Dylan Hartley
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Hartley’s on-field disciplinary problems are well-documented, with the England hooker serving a recent ban for a stray elbow during Northampton’s win over Leicester before Christmas.
The No. 2 has come in for some serious abuse over Twitter following that incident.
He is worth a follow not for that but for the clever use of images he often employs, such as the selfie from the changing rooms during last season’s Six Nations or this one with the Premiership team captains.
4. David Campese
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Legendary Australian wing Campese was never short of a thing or two to say during his playing career, and that has continued long into the great man’s retirement.
Campese regularly uses his Twitter to lament the lack of running rugby in the modern game and always has a view on the current state of the Wallabies.
He is always ready with a barb to jab at any Englishmen willing to engage with him, and the queue should be lengthy ahead of England’s clash with Australia in the World Cup in October.
3. Sir Clive Woodward
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England’s World Cup-winning coach offers thoughts on rugby and much more via his Twitter account.
The man who guided England to glory in 2003 did so off the back of a successful business career, and he points to a lot of good content from his account that can help others to succeed.
With his success during his time involved with the Great Britain Olympic team as well as his rugby CV, Woodward’s insight into elite preparations ahead of the World Cup in England this year makes him a noteworthy Twitter user for rugby fans to follow.
2. Nick Cummins
9 of 10For everyone who has enjoyed his post-match interviews and wide-eyed view on life, it was possibly the best news of 2014 when the Australian Rugby Union announced the Honey Badger was returning to his homeland.
Cummins had left Australia for a lucrative contract in Japanese rugby at the end of the 2014 Super Rugby season, seemingly ending his chances of featuring in the 2015 World Cup.
But it was revealed in December that he would be back home in time for the 2015 Super campaign and back in the frame for the big show in the autumn.
His presence in the Wallabies World Cup squad would make the rugby Twittersphere an infinitely more entertaining place.
1. Brian Moore
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Former England hooker-turned-broadcaster-and-journalist Moore can be as incendiary with a microphone in his hand as he was in his boots.
The Pitbull is an avid user of Twitter not only to comment on rugby but to make observations on all manner of issues.
He also loves a spat with Piers Morgan.
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