Dream Team: Jim Hamilton – Gloucester and Scotland lock

1. Cian Healy – He is everything you look for in a modern-day loosehead – he can scrummage and carry the ball all day long. He has become part of a very good Irish front row.
2. Schalk Brits – Probably the best rugby player I have played against. In the Premiership semi-final I got two tap tackles in on him which I am still pretty proud of. He has got such good footwork for a hooker, it is like Saracens have another centre in their team.
3. Martin Castrogiovanni – On his day, he is one of the best tightheads about. Everyone knows him for his scrummaging but he is also a nuisance over the ball. He’s also a great character and as soon as the rugby finishes you see a completely different side to him.
4. Brad Thorn – I have chosen Brad for a couple of reasons – first I love the type of player he is and at his age how fit and classy he still is. After the World Cup to still be playing like he has forLeinster has been phenomenal.
5. Sam Whitelock – I have gone for another All Black in the second row because he has really impressed me whenever I have played against him. For a guy who is not huge, he really makes his mark felt physically.
6. Sean O’Brien – He did not play that well against us in the Six Nations but for the big games, especially in the Heineken Cup, he just seems to step it up. I see him developing like Henrich Brussouw.
7. Richie McCaw – Again he is not a big guy but he just seems to possess this natural strength that makes him like a limpet over the tackle area. He gets away with a lot but that’s why he is the best player in the world.
8. Kieran Read – I have picked a few All Blacks but I don’t make any apology for that – they were world champions for a reason. Read has the best pick and go in the game, once he gets momentum he is nearly impossible to stop.
9. Ruan Pienaar – The reasonUlster got to the Heineken Cup final. Such an intelligent player with an all-round game – he is quick, strong and can kick from hand from virtually anywhere.
10. Dan Carter – When we have played against him withScotland we have deliberately tried to target him but we didn’t lay a finger on him. He’s never got a mark on him because he is so quick and has great footwork.
11. Timoci Matanavou – We playedToulouse in the Heineken Cup group stage and he was awesome in both games. Very fast and seems to score tries for fun.
12. Sonny Bill Williams – I just love watching him play, when it is not against Scotland. Probably the most exciting player in the game – I would have loved to been a back like him in a different life.
13. Brian O’Driscoll – A true warrior. He has been at the top of his game for over a decade which is no mean feat. Wears his heart on his sleeve and is also very effective at the breakdown.
14. Alesana Tuilagi – Such a physical wing, when he was in full flight there was little you could do to stop him. He is a quiet guy who is very close to his family and I remember the last time I went round his house when I was at Leicester a few years ago, I saw Manu with his colouring-in book and lunchbox.
15. Rob Kearney – Been in sensational form for the last two years. His up and under is so effective. There’s a stat we were given atScotland that shows he claims 60 per cent of his up and unders which is by far and away the most in the world.