Dream Team: James Bailey – former Saracens, Gloucester, Irish, Lyon and Wasps wing
2. Olivier Azam – The chant of ‘Oli, Oli’ from the Shed still rings in my ears. Z was a ferocious player who never took a backwards step.
3. Christian Califano – First played with the enigmatic Frenchman at Saracens and then again at Gloucester; he was always a joy to be around. So much experience, fantastic in the tight and the open.
4. Abdel Benazzi – Another French legend who is a must in my pack. Comfortable anywhere from No.4 to No.8, his power and leadership would be an asset to any team. On my debut for Saracens he said to me ‘any trouble and I’ll look after you’.
5. Joe Launchbury – Impressed me massively during my time at Wasps. His work rate is incredible and I believe he’ll be an international superstar.
6. Yannick Nyannga – Played against him at every international age-group level and again when I was at Lyon. His athleticism is incredible.
7. Steffon Armitage – Consistently showing he is up there with the best opensides in the world. Was fantastic at Irish but his game has gone to another level at Toulon
8. James Forrester – So many fantastic moments playing with Jango, be it winning the Middlesex Sevens or his last minute try in the 2006 Challenge Cup final.
9. Frederick Michalak – Sums up French flair – Capable of doing anything at any given moment.
10. Felipe Contepomi – Always referred to me as the “Hamaican”. I will always remember the try he scored for Bristol and then celebrated by sitting in the stands and applauded his efforts.
11. Rupeni Caucaunibuca – Played against him twice; first for Gloucester and again for Lyon, and both times he was unplayable. Speed, power, balance and skill, he had it all.
12. Thomas Castaignède – Had a lot of injures during his time at Saracens but was still a phenomenal player. His flair, skill, and ‘Je ne sais quoi’ definitely fuelled my appetite to play in France.
13. Brian O’Driscoll – As complete a player as they come. When playing against him he more than lived up to the hype every time.
14. James Simpson-Daniel – Simply the most talented player I have ever played with. Some of the things I saw him do in training and games were beyond belief. I often found myself on the end of the magic he had created.
15. Jason Robinson – Truly one of my favourite players and even when playing against him I just wanted Sale to pass him the ball so I could witness first hand his lightning footwork.
