Dream Team: Gordon Bulloch – former Scotland and Lions hooker

1. Tom Smith – Underrated because of his size, but Tom was a very powerful scrummager. He was very quiet but when he did speak he had a real air of authority.
2. Anton Oliver – Some hookers were very good in the tight or the open, but Anton was great in both. Very strong in the scrum and his speed off the mark was just fabulous.
3. Cobus Visagie – I met him a few times playing against the Springboks and he could destroy a side with his brute strength.
4. Victor Matfield – He had a massive presence – one of those guys who leads from the front and is very commanding. Everything he did was of class – it was as if he had no failings.
5. Richie Gray – Richie does the basics very well and also has that pure speed and ability to beat a man. Hopefully he can push on now and use his Lions experience to make a similar impact on the game as Matfield.
6. Jason White – He had a ferocious tackle that is legendary throughout world rugby. He would come from different angles and he lined people up from 20 or 30 yards away.
7. Josh Kronfeld – His support play and angles of running were brilliant. It just showed the way he could read the game and how competitive he was.
8. Sergio Parisse – I have so much admiration for the way he consistently plays so well for Italy. He is head and shoulders above everyone else in that side and would walk into most international teams.
9. Gary Armstrong – The sheer competitiveness of the guy was a joy to play alongside. Gary was quiet but a bit of a joker – he had a lorry he used to drive and would move the team bus to wind up the coaches.
10. Dave Barrett – Dave didn’t get the recognition he deserved. He had the best hands of anyone I’ve played with and would put me through a gap.
11. Jonah Lomu – I played against him in his peak. I was captain of a Barbarians and after he scored two tries I asked one of the wings to swap and cover Lomu. He ignored me and spent the game avoiding eye-contact.
12. Scott Gibbs – Scott was just a bit special. The lasting memory for me is watching him score that try against England in 1999 to deny the Grand Slam and hand Scotland the trophy.
13. Brian O’Driscoll – A lot of people have written him off in the last couple of years, but he always finds something new each time. You just think ‘where does he get the energy and how can his body recover?’ He is a phenomenal athlete.
14.Rupeni Caucaunibuca – He had blistering pace and you couldn’t get near him. We were scared when he got the ball.
15. Christian Cullen – He was a sublime player who could go through a gap that almost wasn’t there. He was a powerful guy, had a deadly turn of pace and a sublime ability to read the game.