#3. Dan Cole 2/10
Missing only one of England’s 41 Tests that preceded the 2013 summer reflects the impact that Dan Cole has made since his debut in the victory over Wales at Twickenham in February 2010.
He was a 2013 British & Irish Lion and played off the bench in all three Tests. He also figured in five matches for the 2017 Lions in New Zealand but did not appear in a Test match. Cole made his first Test start for England against Italy in 2010, started all five games in the 2011 Rugby World Cup and also in the 2012 and 2013 Six Nations.
He reached the 50-cap landmark in the 55-35 win over France in March 2015 and is England’s second most capped prop behind Jason Leonard (114). He featured in the 2019 squad for the Rugby World Cup and played in the final, and was recently named in Steve Borthwick’s squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
They wrote: “Was a throwback to an old-school tighthead who just does the grunt work and avoids the ball at all times. In the modern game, that type of limited role is just not good enough.”
