‘England annihilating USA proves rugby players would beat NFL players every time’ – Piers Morgan ignites Twitter debate

Professional provocateur Piers Morgan has again enflamed the social media masses by claiming that England's Rugby World Cup win against the USA confirms that rugby players are tougher athletes than their NFL counterparts.

England, the world's third-ranked rugby team, eased to a 45-7 victory against 13th-ranked USA on Thursday in their Pool C clash in what was their second successive win in this year's tournament in Japan. 

READ MORE: Ex-England rugby star Christian Wade scores 65-yard TD with first touch as NFL player

Eddie Jones' England side are considered to be one of the favorites to claim the World Cup trophy, but the United States team will likely have different goals, with their focus moving to claiming a win in their upcoming pool clash with Tonga, a match targeted by the US coaching staff as being the most realistic prospect of claiming a win before their inevitable elimination. 

Nonetheless Morgan, who is known for antagonizing social media with his various declarations, has insisted that England's win underscores the superiority of English rugby players compared to their Gridiron cousins, even going so far as to say that the England rugby team would beat an NFL team at their own sport.

This is obviously quite the statement to make, and largely non-sensical to those who follow either, or both, sports - but Morgan doesn't often let doubt get in the way of a particularly spicy tweet.

As you might expect, Morgan's proclamation was met with disdain by many of those who read it.

Morgan's position was also weakened considerably by former England rugby player Christian Wade's unsuccessful stint in the NFL during this pre-season. The player, who is one of the top try scorers in English Premiership history, was placed with the Buffalo Bills as part of the NFL's international player program but despite showing some potential, Wade was cut from the team before the season began and his current sporting status left in limbo.