Nick Cain picks his Premiership Dream Team

Selecting a Team of the Season is always a subjective business, and although statistics tell part of the story, they can never tell the whole story. However, what we do know is that the 2013-14 league season saw Saracens finish as runaway winners, and that they did it playing a brand of rugby in which they grafted an exciting attack onto a ferocious defence.
Saracens were not alone in putting greater emphasis on attack because the try count of 568 scored during the regular season – i.e. pre-play-offs – is the second highest tally of the past decade (the highest was 614 in 2007-08). The other play-off contenders, Northampton, Leicester and Harlequins, were also in the vanguard.
An average of 4.27 tries per match emphasises that the balance is moving towards attack from defence, and we believe that this Rugby Paper Premiership Team of the Season reflects that shift. We are confident also that every player named in it merits their inclusion by any of the accepted statistical yardsticks.
We set the minimum number of Premiership games required for selection at 14 and above. More than that each player has been intrinsic to the success of their teams. Of the near misses, the Sale openside Dan Braid and his lock/blindside clubmate, Michael Paterson, came closest to edging out the incumbents in the pack, while Chris Ashton’s return to form on the wing for Saracens also meant he had a strong case.
However, overall, this Team of the Season reflects not only consistently good form, it would also do the Premiership proud were it to meet its equivalents from the French Top 14 or the Celt-Italian Pro 12.
15 Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Truly inspirational. No other full-back in the Premiership has been so instrumental in his team’s drive for top honours. Superb footwork and positional sense. Also the scorer of crucial tries – five in 14 appearances, including the one in the eliminator against Bath last weekend – as well as brave and failsafe under the high ball, and bristlingly competitive. Honourable mentions for Chris Pennell, whose one-man army attempts to keep Worcester from relegation earned the admiration of all, and for Alex Goode, whose form for Saracens meant Brown had to keep raising the bar.
14 David Strettle (Saracens)
Again among the most feared finishers in the Premiership with 11 tries in 17 league appearances before yesterday’s semi-final. Has stopped trying to score miracle tries from his own half, as he was prone to do at Harlequins, and has become an integral part of a backline in which the wings are coached to supply scoring passes as much as they demand them. Has rediscovered his form and fizz among the Fez-heads, and we’ve taken the liberty of switching him back to the right wing, which was his favoured position before joining Saracens and moving to the left.
13 Vereniki Goneva (Leicester)
The powerful Fijian showed his speed, power, elusiveness and versatility by filling in at outside-centre for much of the season while Manu Tuilagi was injured, and yet he still managed to finish as the Premiership’s top try scorer before moving back to the wing. Before the semi-finals he had scored 12 tries in 17 league matches and become a firm favourite with the Welford Road crowd. He was chased home by Marcelo Bosch, whose all-round attributes and siege gun goalkicking, have made him an important addition to the Saracens line-up, and Elliot Daly, the young Wasp whose classic outside break makes him a modern rarity.

12 Luther Burrell (Northampton)
A breakthrough season and his selection for England, and ease with which he slotted in at outside centre after playing at inside centre for the Saints, spoke volumes for his ability and composure. Combines real physical strength with an eye for the gap and an ability to offload out of the tackle. Scored three tries for England in his debut season, and another five for Northampton in 18 regular league games. The impressive impact Brad Barritt had for Saracens after returning from injury for the last 10 weeks of the season shows England have depth at 12.
11 Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
The Sale and England veteran became the Premiership’s all-time top try scorer this season (86), passing the mark set by his old club mate, Steve Hanley (75). When it comes to having a nose for the try line Cueto is a bloodhound, and with eight tries in 17 matches, the 34-year-old showed that in terms of anticipation and sharpness he is still at the top of the class. A mention too for Jonny May, who made the most of the possession he got in a misfiring Gloucester side.
10 George Ford (Bath)
At the heart of a Bath resurgence which saw them fall out of the top four only once before being beaten by Harlequins in the play-off eliminator. He finished the regular season as the Premiership’s top points scorer, and his goal-kicking improved markedly in the last third of the season after a shaky start. What was never in doubt was his ability as a play-maker. Ford has that priceless ability to take chances, thanks to his stepping and acceleration, as well as the timing and variety of pass to create opportunities for others. Stephen Myler and Danny Cipriani were hard on his heels.
9 Danny Care (Harlequins)
An irrepressible force who has made incremental leaps forward this season for club and country, and is fast becoming a world-class scrum-half. An opportunist with great speed around the fringes, and all the more effective because he has learned to use his break more sparingly. Scored six tries in 15 regular-season games, but also burnished his box-kicking, which over the course of the campaign went from variable to accurate. The hub around which the high tempo Harlequins game revolves.
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Developing into a formidable loose-head. He had to eat like a horse in order to put on extra weight, but it has paid off in terms of increased horsepower at the scrummage. Where he struggled early on in his Premiership career he is now a dominant force. The bonus is that it doesn’t appear to have diminished his work-rate and effectiveness around the pitch, where his carrying and tackling have been invaluable to Quins. However, the young Northampton prop Alex Waller indicated that he will soon have a serious challenger.

2 Schalk Brits (Saracens)
The best openside flanker ever to play hooker. The Springbok’s contribution around the field is nothing short of phenomenal, whether as a carrier who threatens the line with his sheer speed and exuberance, or as a tackle machine. Effective, too, at the set piece, with his line-out throwing in the top bracket, and the new scrum laws suiting him. He’s also developed a Neil Back-like ability to steer the Saracens driving maul over the line, and finished with four tries in 18 regular matches. A very close call with Quins’ Dave Ward, who had an exceptional second half of the season but did not get much gametime early on.
3 Logovi’i Mulipola (Leicester)
Had to switch across from left to right in the scrum after Dan Cole was injured, and the giant Samoan emerged as the best tight-head in the league. This is some feat given the strong man demands of the anchor position. Gets ahead of James Johnston mainly because his fellow countryman had a quiet start of the season for Saracens – and because he does not have the mobility which makes the Leicester prop one of the most destructive heavyweight carriers in the league. David Wilson also in the mix, along with another Geordie, Kieran Brooks.
4 Dave Attwood (Bath)
The biggest and probably the most powerful second row in the English game was back in business for Bath. Increased his work-rate to the extent that he was one of the most conspicuous figures on the field over the course of his 18 match league campaign, and his athleticism and physical presence is starting to put the pressure on the England incumbents after a couple of injury hit seasons. An athletic yet heavy-duty lock who is the ideal foil for the more lightweight models at large in the league.
5 Ed Slater (Leicester)
Emerged as a new talisman for the Tigers, and because of his capacity to lead from the front he was appointed as captain when Toby Flood’s departure for Toulouse became common knowledge. A scrapper and grappler who is a handful at close quarters yet covers the ground like a blindside flanker, and did so consistently over his 19 Premiership appearances. Serious competition from Sale’s Kiwi born lock/blindside Michael Paterson, who was consistently influential.

6 Samu Manoa (Northampton)
When it comes to making rampaging runs up the middle there is no forward in the Premiership to compare with the barnstorming American. Very hard to bring down because he combines size, speed, and aggression in getting over the gain-line – but the beast also has some beautiful touches, bringing support runners into the game with his offloading out of the tackle. Scored six tries in 19 league games, and was almost unstoppable before his departure to help the USA beat Uruguay to qualify for the 2015 World Cup.
7 Jaques Burger (Saracens)
Bravery and belligerence incarnate. His appetite for the fray is almost feral, but beneath the wild hair there is a rugby brain that is far more focused than  it might appear at first sight. Burger’s aim is to create chaos through maximum disruption, and non-stop work rate and outstanding tackling technique are the two main weapons he employs. However, there is nothing passive about his technique – it is offensive defence, in which winning the ball is the primary objective. Dan Braid was on his case until injury brought his season to an end in March.
8 Nick Easter (Harlequins)
Nick Easter comes out on top after a vintage season despite his Harlequins side running out of steam in the play-off loss to Saracens. Easter turned in the best individual performance from all 132 Premiership matches this season, playing a blinder against Leicester, which included 18 tackles, 63 metres gained and 19 carries to win the Gatorade Game Changer of the Season award. Easter’s consistency over 22 matches put him ahead of Billy Vunipola who, through injury,  played only ten in the regular season.