Dream Team: Sean-Michael Stephen – Plymouth Albion and Canada lock

1. Rod Snow – Just the best ball-carrying prop I’ve ever played with, Rod was fantastic over a long period for Canada. It’s always good as a back row to see one of your props weighing in on the carrying side of things.
2. Graham Dawe – I played with Graham and was coached by him at Plymouth Albion so I can’t really leave him out of this team. I have to admit I was struggling a bit with this position before I thought of him, a good guy to have alongside you.
3. Al Baxter – We played against Australia in the 2007 World Cup on a really cold, wet day and all I remember is our scrum going backwards all day. Just for that I have to put Al into the team.
4. Dan Collier – A former teammate of mine down at Plymouth Albion, Dan has all the talent in the world but doesn’t seem to have been able to make the most of it. He has loads of ability though.
5. Jamie Cudmore – He’s a player who trains exactly the same way as he plays and certainly doesn’t hold back. Definitely someone you want on your team rather than playing for the opposition.
6. Akapusi Qera – I remember playing against him when he was with Fiji and he just made ground at every opportunity. He’s great with ball in hand and at the breakdown as well.
7. George Smith – When we played them in 2007 I spent the whole game at eight with the scrum going backwards. George took full advantage and was all over me for the entire game.
8. Robert Barbieri – He’s gone on to be very successful but I remember Rob when he was 17 over in Canada. Even then it was a case of men against boys.
9. Morgan Williams – He played with such intensity  in every game. Another hugely important player for Canada over a long time.
10. Dan Carter – We played against New Zealand in 2011 and he made it look so easy for the All Blacks. He made a lot of people look silly and was simply outstanding.
11. Shane Williams – I can’t  leave him out. He seemed to enjoy playing us and was pretty much impossible to tackle when in space.
12. Craig Culpan – Another one of my teammates with Canada, Craig is a great guy to work off in the midfield. A powerful runner and a strong defender.
13. Keni Fisilau – A teammate of mine at Plymouth, Keni packs a punch in defence. He doesn’t hold back with his tackles in training either so you have to try to get out of the way!
14. Mike Pyke – Very tall and extremely versatile wing who was a great player for Canada because of how good he was under the high ball. We grew up playing together so I’ve known him for a long time.
15. Chris Latham – He was getting towards the end of his career by the time I played against him but he was still very good. He was just so steady and made no mistakes.