Dream Team: Alex Cheesman- Cornish Pirates and former Wasps flanker

Alex Cheesman1. Ricky Lutton – He is now playing at Ulster as a tighthead, but I played with him at University at loosehead where he was an awesome scrummager and pretty nippy, too!
2. Anton Oliver – I was lucky enough to play with this All Black legend at Oxford. He was tough and a great presence on the pitch, but he was a really kind, generous guy off of it as well.
3. Alan Paver – He’s a Pirates legend, and deservedly so. His commitment to the team and his ability at the is second to none, and he’s still going at 40 years old.
4. Dan Vickerman – He was a physical, uncompromising player, and a special lineout forward, captaining in the Varsity Match before returning to to make the the following year.
5. Samu Manoa – I played against him when I was younger and his carrying and skills were just awesome.
6. Stan McKeen – He’s a former and Pirates player, but we played together at Oxford University for three years. He was as tough a player as I’ve seen and a great guy, too.
7. Jonathon Poff – He’s a really talented ball player, and great over the ball. Just awesome for .
8. Dave Ewers – I only played a handful of times with him, but his sheer size and strength meant he stood out every time.
9. Tom Kessell – He’s a real running scrum-half with an awesome pass, and also not shy of getting stuck in, it was a pleasure playing with him at Pirates.
10. Jimmy Gopperth – Such a great goal kicker but also has incredible handling skills. He was brilliant for when they were in the .
11. Doug Howlett – I played against him in a pre-season friendly once while he was at , he had amazing pace and has scored so many incredible tries.
12. Sam Hill – He is such a strong and talented player, and, although I can’t ever remember seeing it, the rumour at Pirates is that he’s been known to eat a whole packed lunch at halftime!
13. Juan Pablo Socino – He was great against Pirates while playing in the Championship, with all the skills but also such a strong defender.
14. I played with Christian at school as well as later on at Wasps. His ability to beat people one-on-one is so well known now, but he’s also great under the high ball and works really hard on his game.
15. Matt Evans – Mevs is a committed, hard running Canadian who had an awesome World Cup for Canada, and an even better season for Pirates.

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