Dream Team: Alex Rieder – Rotherham and former Leeds No.8

1. Mike McDonald – The former Leeds man is the most capped American international for a reason. He is very strong at the scrum but also very mobile ball in hand.
2. Tom Cruse – His try scoring-record speaks for itself really. He made the TRP Dream Team last year and he is an exceptional player for Rotherham who will go far in the game.
3. Colin Quigley – I might get some stick for this but the old man at Doncaster is a great scrummager. Maybe too much of a joker but he’s a very good player. He loves a run, too.
4. Jon Pendlebury – I had a lot of respect for him when I was at Leeds. He was a great leader who was also very strong in defence around the park.
5. Dan Sanderson – I’ll definitely get some stick from the boys at Titans but in terms of the lineout he’s great. He’s doing the job at Worcester now after fine work for Doncaster.
6. Matt Kvesic – I played him a couple of times in the A-league when he was at Worcester. Whether carrying or tackling, he was just a nuisance everywhere.
7. Ross Rennie – Ross gets the nod over Jack Preece because of his speed at the breakdown. By the time you got there, the ball had come out the other side.
8. Ally Hogg – A great leader at Newcastle who brought a lot to the Falcons. You can tell he played at such a high level because of his tricks at the breakdown and in the mauls.
9. Charlie Mulchrone – For such a small guy, he is exceptional at making breaks. A full member of the West Street Boys with his very good singing voice.
10. Jimmy Gopperth – He was such a big loss to Newcastle. The way he was bringing the whole team forward was superb. He’s a great kicker and passer but also strong in defence.
11. Eamon Sheridan – I know he plays centre at London Irish but he started on the wing for Rotherham. With his size and pace, I did not envy anyone coming up against him. Great to see him do so well in the Premiership.
12. Juan Pablo Socino – His metronomic kicking earned him the Championship Player of the Year last season. He was just outstanding in everything he did. Always the first at training and the last to leave.
13. Jack Roberts – He is unbelievable at breaking the line for Titans despite being so small. One of the best I’ve ever played with.
14. Michael Keating – He scored a lot of tries for us last season and a lot of them were not easy. Not many would have scored them.
15. Steve McColl – I played with and against him. As a teammate at Leeds, he was a great counter attacker. As an opponent, most of our analysis was about avoiding kicking to him. He can spot and expose a gap from anywhere and I hope he goes well at Gloucester.