Whitten tops list of those who deserve more love

UNHERALDED, underestimated, underrated, overlooked, reliable, stalwart. It’s funny how some players – cracking in their own right – become typecast and fail to attract the accolades and superlatives they are due and are only grudgingly given MoM awards, let alone newspaper headlines the next day.

They don’t really fit the agenda, they aren’t box office or perhaps they understudy a bigger name whose is considered bullet proof from criticism. To praise the stalwart extravagantly somehow detracts from the star.

That was my train of thought recently when the perennially ‘underrated’ and ‘unheralded’ Ian Whitten reeled off yet another exceptional performance for Exeter. During his five years at Chiefs I can’t remember him being anything other than very good while more often than not he is contender for MoM.

So I’ve quickly compiled a list of those who I believe suffer from this syndrome. Two in particular don’t really fit my criteria because they are big ‘names’ but I’m including them anyway.

For me there is no more talented or consistently outstanding performer in the Premiership than Alex Goode, whose frequent brilliance seems to get mentioned almost apologetically these days because England clearly have no plans for him. Meanwhile Ashley Johnson’s incredible physicality, workrate and general excellence sometimes gets totally overlooked while others are praised to the hilt.

Here’s my collective ‘shout out’ and chapeau for those who deserve a bit more love: Ian Whitten, Alex Goode, Ross Batty, Phil Dollman, Olly Woodburn, Charlie Walker, Sam Harrison, Greg Bateman, Josh Bassett, Ashley Johnson, Sam James, Jackson Wray, Michael Groves, Chris Pennell, Will Addison, Andrei Ostrikov, Tom Collins, Chris Harris and Mark Wilson. Perhaps we should organise a tie and annual lunch for them and their ilk.