Dream Team: Paul Burke – Leicester backs coach and former Harlequins & Ireland fly-half

1. Jason Leonard – Played together at Harlequins and he is simply incredible. He is the most capped prop in the game – a robust player with such power and just an all round top bloke.
2. Keith Wood – The toughest hooker I know. Had no respect for his body – he battered himself every time he played and he carried the ball so tenaciously.
3. Julian White – His snarly look said it all – you did not want to get on the wrong side of him! Very powerful scrummager who never took a backwards step.
4. Garrick Morgan – A colossus of a man. He was a key man at Quins because he was a big ball carrier on the pitch and a great character off it.
5. Paul O’Connell – He is a real leader and would be my captain in the team. I played with him at Munster and he is still turning in massive performances for his club and country.
6. Dan Baugh – I played with him in Cardiff and he loved running over fly-halves. You did not want to be tackled by him and he was a very fast, powerful man who loved running through apparent brick walls in teams.
7. David Wilson – He is an all-round awesome player. He made a huge impact at Harlequins when he arrived from Australia. His ability to get over the ball stood him out from the rest.
8. Martin Corry – I played with him at Bristol and also Leicester. A real grafter who would give you the hard yards and you could always depend on. He was also a real leader.
9. Robert Jones – A Welsh legend. Extremely gifted player and had one of the best passes in the game. Played together at Bristol and he had everything.
10. Diego Dominguez – The magician who was the heartbeat of that Italian team that was so successful in the late 90s. His ability to read the game was unreal.
11. Alesana Tuilagi – The one player you were glad to have on your team at Leic-ester training. So big and powerful – he knew where the try line was and you just had to give him the ball.
12. Matt O’Connor – He only had one cap for Australia – he deserved more than that but sadly injured his knee. I was his assistant coach at Leicester and it was clear that he has a great rugby brain. What he lacked up for in pace he made up for in banter!
13. Manu Tuilagi – He was a young kid coming through and I’m glad I retired when I did with centres like him in the game. So big and powerful and like his brother you want him on your team.
14. Simon Geoghegan – I played with him for Ireland and in the amateur days he was a professional before his time. Unpredictable and a real finisher.
15. Christian Cullen – Tough call to leave out Geordan Murphy but I remember being side-stepped in the Hong Kong 7s and it was excruciating – I didn’t get anywhere near him. He just glided over the pitch.