Dream Team: Jamie Gibson – Northampton flanker

1. Marcos Ayerza – There can’t have been many better looseheads than him over the last four or five years at club and Test level. No wonder the Pumas have the best pack around with him in it.
2. Dylan Hartley – I played with a lot of good hookers but Dylan’s leadership sets him apart. What he’s done with England for the past 12 months speaks volume.
3. Carl Hayman – Easy pick here. One of my first games for Irish was up in Newcastle and he single- handily destroyed our scrum. Unbelievable.
4. Louis Deacon – An under-rated player in my opinion but very tough and never took a backward step. He set a marker down at the set piece and the breakdown.
5. Alun-Wyn Jones – He’s been awesome for so many years at international level. Reached the 200-game mark for the Ospreys this weekend, too.
6. Jerry Collins – I was lucky enough to play against him when he was at Ospreys. What an athlete! He smoked me hitting me a ‘fraction’ late and that’s the last thing I remember from that game.
7. George Smith – I can’t believe he’s been playing at that same level for 15 years now. I first played him five years ago in an England v Barbarians game. He was awesome.
8. Steffon Armitage – Not your usual No.8 but what a ball carrier. He’s brilliant over the ball too and to be named Top14 player of the year being English tells you how good he is.
9. Kahn Fotuali’i – He could easily play at openside because he’s so good over the ball. Not many scrum-halves can bully other players but he can.
10. Dan Carter – Close call with Matt Giteau but I went with Dan because I couldn’t get anywhere near him when we played Racing in the Champions Cup. He pulls the strings brilliantly.
11. George North – I can’t think of any wingers who are bigger, quicker or stronger than George. It’s ridiculous to think about what he’s achieved at such a young age.
12. Seilala Mapusua – I played with him for years at Irish and he had everything. He was big with great hands. Some of the things he could do with the ball were crazy.
13. Manu Tuilagi – You just can’t tackle him one on one and you struggle two on one. No matter whether he’s got the ball or not you have to worry about him and there’s not many people like that.
14. Sailosi Tagicakibau – There was a time at Irish where we were told to just give him the ball and see what happens. More often than not he’d score.
15. Chris Latham – I played against him in my first ever professional game. It was a LV=Cup at Worcester. I watched him growing up so to play against him was such an honour.