Kiwi/Italian Jayden Hayward heads list of RWC tournament 'hotties'

NZ-born Italy fullback Jayden Hayward may not have enjoyed on-field success at the Rugby World Cup, but that didn't stop him catching the discerning eye of fans.

While his team failed to progress from New Zealand's pool at the Japan tournament, Hayward, 32, was voted 'favourite rugby hottie' in a poll conducted by the liverugbytickets.co.uk website.

"Excitement from the Rugby World Cup has definitely increased interest in the sport," said the site. "Not only from those wanting to learn the game, but those looking for a little eye-candy."

Born in Hawera, Hayward played provincial rugby for Taranaki, and represented Hurricanes, Highlanders and the Australian Western Force franchise in Super Rugby, before heading to Europe in 2014.

He received a 79 percent endorsement from the poll, followed by England first-five George Ford, with All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor the highest-placed New Zealand player (76 percent).

Another Italian/Kiwi Dean Budd also featured among the top 20 with 66 percent of the vote, along with Fiji first-five Ben Volavola, who has dated Divergent movie star Shailene Woodley.

The top 20 'rugby hotties', according to liverugbytickets.co.uk, are:

Jayden Hayward (Italy) - 79 percent

George Ford (England) - 77

Codie Taylor (New Zealand) – 76

Damian De Allende (South Africa) - 74

Pierre-Louis Barassi (France) - 73

Owen Farrell (England) - 69

Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) - 68

Chris Harris (Scotland) - 67

Dean Budd (Italy) - 66

Giorgi Kveseladze (Georgia) - 64

Jeff Hassler (Canada) - 63

Amanaki Mafi (Japan) - 60

Manu Tuilagi (England) - 59

Maxime Machenaud (France) - 58

Allan Dell (Scotland) - 56

Andrés Vilaseca (Uruguay) - 55

Anthony Watson (England) - 53

Ben Volavola (Fiji) - 53

Cam Dolan (USA) - 52

Davit Kacharava (Georgia) - 50