Former Ireland rugby star Alan Quinlan has slammed the England rugby team's behaviour during the Six Nations.
Quinlan criticised coach Eddie Jones and the likes of captain Owen Farrell and prop Joe Marler in a stinging newspaper attack.
He was speaking after three England players, Marler, Manu Tuilagi and Courtney Lawes, all faced citing hearings on Thursday after the 33-30 victory over Wales.
Skipper Farrell's conduct has also come under the microscope after he sparked the mass scuffle that resulted in Marler grabbing Alun Wyn Jones' genitals by pushing George North in the chest.
And coach Jones was carpeted by the RFU after effectively accusing referee Ben O'Keeffe of bias during a furious post-match blast .
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph , Quinlan said: "England will probably win this Six Nations, if it ever does reach a conclusion, but their behaviour on and off the field, led by a loose-lipped general and a petulant first lieutenant, will probably make them the most unlikeable team in recent memory to lift the trophy.
“This England team can play rugby, there’s no doubt about that, but the way they are going about their business – pushing boundaries when it comes to aggression, questioning the integrity of officials and goading opponents in unprovoked episodes of poor sportsmanship – is spraying lighter fluid across a game that is already engaged in its fair share of fire-fighting.
“Six weeks have passed since Eddie Jones warned a youthful French outfit to expect 'absolute brutality' in the City of Love, essentially a declaration of war in a neighbouring rugby community still deeply shook by the 2018 deaths of three young players in the space of five months.”
“A good captain shouldn’t be giving away four penalties in 24 minutes.
"When the head coach is defending reckless tackles and the captain has a habit of hitting high, what kind of path do you expect the rest of the squad to follow?”
Marler was banned for 10-weeks following the controversial Alun Wyn Jones incident, while Tuilagi received four weeks for the red card high tackle on North. Lawes was cleared to play on.
