1. Mark Lambert – We lived together when I was at Quins. He plays both sides of the scrum and is a powerful unit. Plus he’s a great guy to have around the team.
2. Steve Thompson – He was a great ball carrier and a really big character when we played for Leeds. He’s done it all so would bring a load of experience.
3. Faan Rautenbach – We played together at London Irish and he was always a character and full of energy. We could always rely on him to hold up the scrum.
4. Roy Winters – Roy is a legend everywhere he goes, Bristol in particular. A real lineout guru and has the biggest engine of anyone I’ve played with in the second row.
5. Mariano Sambucetti – The Argentinean is exactly the sort of player every team needs. A big brute of a guy who loves to get under the opposition’s skin.
6. Tom Guest – It was just a case of deciding where to put him. He’s a big guy but also deceptively quick and can really get around the park. We came through the academy at Quins and even lived together for a while, as he was pretty tidy I’ll put him in.
7. James Haskell – He was a schoolmate at Wellington and although he’s a big guy, he does a good job at 7. He is a really big character and exactly the sort of person you want in your team.
8. Kai Horstmann – One of those guys you can rely on to perform week in, week out and he’s been a quality Premiership player for a long time. Another who I went to school with.
9. Danny Care – He’s in the form of his life and just absolutely electric off the back of a scrum. It’s not just his pace, he’s got the all-round game to go with it.
10. Adrian Jarvis – I’d have a lot of fun in this team. The backline is a bit quicker than me, so they would definitely make my job easier.
11. Thom Evans – Sadly not playing any more but Thom was absolutely lightning quick. As a pure sprinter I can’t think of many better and it’s such a shame that he had to retire so young.
12. Jordan Turner-Hall – A fly-half’s dream in that you can always rely on him to carry the ball over the gainline. He’s just so strong and I reckon would go pretty well with the next man.
13. Will Greenwood – I played a season or two with Will when I broke into the team at Quins. A great guy to learn from, always communicating. Probably the only guy in this backline who I’m quicker than!
14. Max Evans – He was best man at my wedding so I can’t really leave him out. I remember he was a scrum-half when he was younger but they soon moved him out because he couldn’t pass. He’s incredibly agile and goes on jinky runs so I think he’s best on the wing.
15. Tom Williams – Another one of my old schoolmates, and back then he played more at full-back than on the wing. Even now he has the skills to play either position and is doing well at Quins.