Dream Team: James Grindall – Bristol and former Leicester scrum-half
2. Trevor Leota – As wide as he is tall, he was one guy you did not want to run into. I’ve seen some ‘near-death’ experiences with Big Trev on the field and he was incredible for Wasps.
3. Marius Hurter – The SA World Cup winner was a rock for close to a decade for the Falcons. A nice bloke off the pitch, but a nasty piece of work on it.
4. Hugh Vyvyan – Like a fine red wine, ‘Vyv’ just got better with age. He had a great career of over 300 Premiership games and really enjoyed a chat with the ref!
5. Stuart ‘Lord’ Grimes – Loved to hits breakdowns, was a great ball-carrier and a lineout king, but he’s only in my team because he owns a castle in Aberdeen. He loves a cup of tea…but only if it’s made by his butler.
6. Colin Charvis – He was not an advocate of training, but always produced the goods in the game and was an outstanding flanker. He would also be first in the pub after the game and last to leave the next morning.
7. Josh Kronfeld – I feel lucky to have played with Josh in 2001. I have never seen anyone else as good over the ball as this Kiwi legend.
8. Lawrence Dallaglio – Had to get ‘The Lol’ in the team somewhere, if only for the team talk! It was always a good battle against the Wasps back-row with the likes of Dallaglio, Worsley and Rees and he’d be my captain.
9. Rob Howley – He had everything: decision-making, an excellent pass, speed and a great temperament. No wonder he went on two Lions tours.
10. Dave Walder – A naturally gifted footballer who could kick a ball on a sixpence. He controlled the game fantastically on the pitch, but he never ever stops moaning off it.
11. Leon Lloyd – A fellow Coventry lad who is still trying to live off ‘that’ try for the Tigers against Stade Français in the Heineken final over ten years ago. I’ll remind everyone of that again for you mate!
12. Pat Howard – Leicester‘s master tactician when they won the Premiership and Heineken Cups. What he lacked in pace, he made up with speed of thought, guile and great hands.
13. Jamie Noon – Pound-for-pound, the biggest hitter I have played with. When he broke the record for 50 consecutive appearances at Falcons, he tried to smash Henry Tuilagi and got knocked out. Shame he won’t remember his record.
14. Jason Robinson – Never a good sight for a covering No.9 to see him break through. I was usually chasing shadows from there but I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t catch him.
15. Matt Burke – The best side parting in rugby. It was annoying to see how easy he made everything look! Geordan Murphy would make my Drinking XV!
