14. Jessica Ennis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yh1G_F5YMg Sport - Athletics The poster girl for the nation in the run-up Olympics, some could argue that Jessica Ennis has been somewhat overexposed in the media, though the attention doesnt seem to affect her talent, given her current holding of the British womens records for the high jump, 100m hurdles, indoor pentathlon and hepthatlon. The bookies favourite for heptathlon gold before the games, Sheffield-born Ennis delivered in style, winning the seven-event discipline with a new personal best of 6955 points, trouncing her nearest competitor, the German Lilli Schwarzkopf, by 306 points as she took victory in the 100m hurdles, 200m and 800m, never giving up her lead throughout the two day duration of the event, despite her perceived weaknesses at throwing disciplines. Though she also qualified for the 100m hurdles event, Ennis withdrew following her heptathlon success, forfeiting the opportunity to become part of the elite group of British athletes with two gold medal successes in 2012, but forever securing her place in the hearts and minds of the nation. 13. Dan Lydiate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N5vq4S4EBQ Sport - Rugby Union Like football, rugby union is a sport where (apart from the British and Irish Lions tours) the four home nations of the United Kingdom compete separately, as opposed to together under the banner of Great Britain. Unlike football, however, rugby union is a sport where teams other than England are competitive on the international stage, with both Scotland and Wales (and Northern Ireland, who compete as part of a unified Irish side) able to field strong sides that are often superior to their English counterparts. This was true in 2012, where the Welsh team achieved a grand slam in the Six Nations tournament, beating England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy to win the title for the twenty-fifth time. Key to this success was flanker Dan Lydiate, who featured in five of Wales six games, receiving man of the match awards for the games against Scotland and France and the man of the tournament award for his overall contribution to Wales victory. Though the next rugby world cup is not until 2015, Lydiate, at the age of twenty-four, would be a likely bet to feature as Wales attempt to win the competition for the first time.