Dream Team: Rhys Lawrence – Ealing & former Bristol and Scarlets hooker

1. Ryan Bevington – I grew up playing alongside him in Llanelli. He’s got great pace for a prop and scored some memorable tries.
2. Richardt Strauss – The Leinster man is the toughest hooker I’ve come up against. Every time I had the ball he seemed to have my number and was there to tackle me. A ball of muscle, really hard to shift at the scrum, too.
3. James Hobson – He would strike fear into the opposition. A master of the dark arts. I’m glad I never had to play against him.
4. Mariano Sambucetti – The Puma is very solid in the scrum and never took a step back. Felt sorry for his opposite number because they never seemed to have a good time against him.
5. Roy Winters – A legend of a man but very humble. Huge work ethic and a big engine.
6. Mitch Eadie – A future international. He’s the complete player and once in the Premiership his career will sky rocket.
7. Jack Lam – The most chilled out guy at Bristol and it was quite infectious to be honest. But when it came down to games he’d become a destructive force. Great tackler and very good feet for a big guy.
8. Ben Morgan – We arrived at the Scarlets at the same time and he was a genetic freak. So strong and fast. He has gone on to fulfil the potential that we saw then.
9. Ruki Tipuna – Terrible physique but his knowledge of the game and skillset made him the great player he is.
10. Tristan Roberts – Abrasive defender, impressive feet and a consistent goal-kicker. I’m looking forward to see how he deals with his hair this season.
11. Matt Williams – The London Scottish flyer just has out and out pace. But his defence needs to be pointed out, too. You just can’t get past him. Once he chased a guy for 90 metres and managed to hold him over the line.
12. Gavin Henson – Very impressed on how committed and professional he was when he joined Bristol. Seems to get so much time on the ball and always puts people in space.
13. Mathieu Bastareaud – I played against him at the 2008 JWC with Wales U20s and I tried to tackle him. He picked up the ball from a ruck and barged me out of the way to score.
14. George North – Beast of a bloke. Enjoyed watching him go from nowhere to being a Test star in the space of a few months.
15. Leigh Halfpenny – Always puts his body on the line and never misses a tackle. I’ll never forget that winning try he scored eight minutes into injury time against France at the 2008 JWC.