4 Of The UK’s Most Underrated Sports People
Every sport has its greats; Ali, Jordan, Woods, Williams. We know their names well enough. Their accolades hang from the rafters of sports stadiums and their ability as athletes is never questioned. Understandably so; they’re incredible people. But it is because of this, their names rarely arise in a sporting debate. Big name discussions are boring - everyone can tell you that Lionel Messi or Ronaldo are phenomenal footballers, but can they pick up on those that don’t get the limelight, the grafters of sport? I have a BA (Hons) on this particular subject and will share a few favourites.
So what do we mean by underrated? In layman’s terms; it’s someone who has just never had enough hype or respect put on their name. They spend much of their career out of the spotlight and they were likely not the hot prospect out of a Dutch footballing academy or weren’t drafted straight into the NBA straight out of high school. They don’t receive lucrative sponsorships for drink companies and you sadly won’t be seeing them in a cameo role, in a completely unrelated film. Instead, you’ll find them working hard to perfect their craft. It is sadly, only until they’re retired from the sport, that the finally get the recognition that they deserve. So it is up to us to thrust their unrecognised names into the spotlight, through our clubhouse discussions. So without further ado, onto our first underrated athlete.
Alex Goode
It baffles me that such a decorated player gets completely overlooked by his country. A full back by trade but realistically can fill a gap in any back line. The Saracens veteran’s (yes, a veteran at 32) record speaks for itself: • 5 Time premiership winner. • 3 time European cup winner. • 2014/15 Premiership player of the year • 2018/19 earned the European player of the year.
Despite this impact at domestic level, England coach Eddie Jones just isn’t phased, and continually ignores him internationally. Following the delayed conclusion of the 19/20 season, Goode will be heading East, on a season long loan deal, playing for NEC Green Rockets in the Japanese ‘Top League’. With only 21 international caps entering the twilight years of his career, I really feel that England missed a major opportunity at success with Goode.
Tyson Fury
Now you might be curious as to why I’m mentioning his name in terms of underrated. We all know how good he is, he’s the unified heavy weight champion of the world! But do we really understand just how good he is?! Tyson Fury’s pure talent and ability is unmatched. However, it’s frequently overlooked and, throughout his career, he has been written off. You’d think a man that stands at 6’7” and weighing 18 stone would rely purely on brute strength. But no. Instead, it’s his fluid and delicate style that sees him so often stood victorious and, for some reason, serenading his crowd (oh yeah, he can sing quite well too). I think where Fury is consistently written off, is physically. Fury may not have cheese grater abs or well defined biceps like Deontay Wilder, but that matters very little when Fury is the one holding up two gleaming belts after barely four rounds. Undefeated in 31 professional fights, what Fury lacks physically he makes up for in pure technical boxing ability and most importantly, his ability to overcome adversity. Battling depression and addiction back in 2015 saw him take a 32 month absence from the sport. Only for him to re-rise from the ashes in 2018, where he remains undefeated.
Next on the list is England International Jermaine Defoe OBE.
A career that has stretched across 4 different decades and, despite his age, Jermaine Defoe is still a phenomenal striker. Aged just 16 he turned professional playing for West Ham 1998, he would go on, perhaps unfortunately, to spend the prime of his career in the premier league around some of the greatest footballers we’ve ever seen. Rooney, Bergkamp and Thierry Henry to name a few; Defoe’s ability would go, ever so slightly, under the radar. With the big 4 teams all fully loaded with heavy hitting strikers, Defoe spent much of his time up front, in a very different looking Spurs team to the one we have now. Perhaps a different and more trophy ridden career would have been likely for him, had any one of those teams seen sense and signed him. Nevertheless, Defoe’s ability to score sits him at 8th top premier league strikers of all time, 1 behind Robbie Fowler, another highly underrated player. His international career saw him earn 57 appearances and 20 goals for his country and, domestically, Defoe played 496 across both the premiership and championship scoring 162 goals in total. He continues of course, at the age of 37 playing for Rangers in the Scottish premier league. Defoe earned his OBE status for his charity work and has dedicated it to his "best friend", the late Bradley Lowery; a young boy who sadly lost his life to Neuroblastoma; a rare type of cancer.
Now to finish this up, I need you to research “Who has the most caps for England Rugby”. A google search will do (other search engines are available). Now many will say Jason Leonard and according to the sites appearing on that google search; it is Jason Leonard with 114. However the record of most caps for England, actually goes to Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark MBE, a long time servant to the women’s international team. Clark has made a staggering 137 appearances for her country and, worldwide, sits in third place as the most capped international rugby player, behind only Richie McCaw and Alun Wyn Jones. Despite retiring from the international game, the 2014 World Cup winner, is still plying her trade as player-coach for Saracens Women. Clark is an enormous influence on women’s rugby and women’s sport as a whole. It is important to recognise the contribution of female athletes like Rocky. It is their influence that helps drive participation and inspire the next generation of girls in sport.
Underrated athletes are the unsung heroes of the sporting world, they never get the recognition that they truly deserve. So it’s up to us, the people and the fans of the sporting world to ensure that their names get the respect that they deserve!
Written by Jordan Yeates
My name is Jordan. I turned to writing as a source of relief from my struggles. A few years ago, I
struggled a lot and therefore I wrote a lot. With time, I got alright at it and even started to enjoy it. I now do it everyday but this time because I enjoy it and I want to start sharing my work with others. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook @jordanyeatesmh. Here I share more of my work, along with some videos too.