2.Jon Creswell – Probably one of the fastest hookers in the country when I turned out alongside him at Hartpury College.
3.John Smit – I had the honour of facing the former South Africa captain when I played for the SA Barbarians in his testimonial match.
4.Neilus Keogh – The Irish enforcer. Played with him last season here at Nottingham before he went to Esher. He’s a big bloke with great attributes.
5.Tom Savage – I played with him for a few years at Hartpury and what a player he was already . A good lineout forward and handy around the park. He’s doing great at Gloucester now.
6.Chris Hala’ufia – Faced him in pre-season two seasons back and you know he’s on the field when you play against him. The only man that can carry five times in a row without getting tackled.
7.Mat Gilbert – Another lad I played with at University and the fact that he made it to the Premiership at Bath despite being deaf is a huge testament to him.
8.Mark Bright – The London Scottish No.8 just never stops carrying and you know it’s always going to be a tough day at the office when you play against him.
9.Willie Heinz – I played a season in New Zealand with Linwood and Willie would play for us if he wasn’t involved with the Crusaders. As a No.8 you could always rely on him to bring you into the game.
10.James Arlidge – All round nice guy with a cool and calm head on the pitch. A level above the rest and always looked like he had loads of time on the ball. He was brilliant for Japan at the 2011 World Cup.
11.Alex Lewington – He came to Nottingham on loan from Leicester and he was just a try-scoring machine. One of these players who always make a break or scored once the ball got to him. Good to see him doing well at London Irish.
12.Ryan Crotty – He was on the brink of making the All Blacks when I faced him so it was a very tough afternoon! Very direct runner.
13.Tim Streather – Another that showed the ability to move to the Premiership and he’s done great for Saracens. He was class at Nottingham.
14.Niki Goneva – Played Tigers in pre-season a while back in one of his first games for them and he was keen to show what he could do. No one got near him.
15.Sean Maitland – One of my teammates at Linwood. The fastest player I’ve played, always finding holes no one else could.