Former Wales and British & Irish Lions star Ben Quinnell may not have impressed his fellow punditry colleagues during a Q&A session at the Rugby World Cup. The Welshman was at the event alongside ex-England players Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood and Ben Kay but he reportedly taunted the World Cup winners by wearing a Fiji shirt to the evening.
Quinnell made over 50 caps for Wales and his affiliation was never in doubt prior to the weekend’s quarter-finals that saw Warren Gatland’s side bow out to a defiant Argentina before England got past Fiji to set up a semi-final with South Africa.
Quinnell was among several former rugby stars of the past as they attended a sponsored ‘England Rugby House’ event at the Palais de la Bourse hotel in Marseille before Wales took on Argentina. It has become common for players at such events to wear the jerseys of the team they used to play for, but Quinnell took a different approach.
In a bid to mock the England icons in attendance, he proudly wore a Fiji shirt before the Fijians took on Steve Borthwick’s side, according to the Daily Mail. The report states that it did little to endear himself to Dawson, Greenwood and Kay who joined the Welshman on stage with other guests as part of a session where they answered questions from the audience.
Quinnell has always worn his heart on his sleeve in terms of his affiliation with Wales, having delivered a rousing speech to the nation’s football team in the dressing room to get them motivated for the World Cup in Qatar – but this time may have been left with egg on his face in his attempts to rile up the England icons at the event.
Dawson, Greenwood and Kay will feel that they have got one over Quinnell, however, as Wales were surprisingly dumped out of the tournament by Argentina after delivering a disappointing performance – before England then reached the final four of the World Cup by holding off a Fiji side that Wales had already beaten in the pool stage.
