Dream Team: Christian Day – Northampton and former Sale & Stade Francais lock
2. Sebastien Bruno – Beast of a man who was a one man scrum. Body shape best described as square.
3. Sylvain Marconnet – Top scrummager, powerful in the loose and could ball handle, too. Injury curtailed his talents.
4. Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe – Old school, socks around his ankles, professional cheat. An amazing player before his terrible leg injury that ended with him having a dead man’s hamstring!
5. Pascal Pape – The former France captain was much more athletic in his younger days when I played with him in Paris than the big unit he is now. A tough man who said little but delivered lots. Loved a bit of niggle, too.
6. Jason White – Absolute physical specimen. You did not want to run straight at this guy even at training. Smashed guys for fun. A real leader by example.
7. Juan Fernandez Lobbe – The Energizer Bunny. Where the ball is, the former Pumas captain is. Has only one gear and that’s 100 per cent every time he took to the field.
8. Sergio Parisse – There’s nothing the Italian captain can’t do. The power of a forward with the skills of a back. Intelligent and dominant personality. Fantastic player.
9. Richard Wigglesworth – Some players just make a team tick and Wiggy was one of those at Sale. Calm and assured with a good pass and kicking game. A key part of Saracens success, still a little rat, though.
10. Charlie Hodgson – A fantastic footballer who could rip defences to shreds. Good runner, great passer, dependable kicker. Such a shame he didn’t get the international recognition his form deserved.
11. Bruce Reihana – A top All Black, but a great club man, too. Fearsome to play against. Commitment personified. Fast, strong and always in the right place.
12. Brian Liebenberg – Strong and skilful. The former France international could play 10, 12 or 15. Had a great kicking game, too. The Parisians felt like they couldn’t win without him in the team.
13. Chris Bell – A player who’s scoring record and defensive abilities should have seen him playing for England. “Truck Head” is now in a leadership role at Wasps.
14. Jason Robinson – Billy Whizz was ‘undefendable’ one on one. Incredibly strong for a guy his size, too. Did nothing in the gym and then broke all the records.
15. Juan Martin Hernandez – Full-back his best position for me. Incredible skill, pace and a huge boot. In my first week they showed a team highlights video which was 90 per cent him. A maverick.
