Dream Team: Mike Delany – Newcastle fly-half

1. Sone Taumalolo – My old Chiefs mate brings fear into the opposition but he's actually a gentle giant and a very nice guy. Scores a lot of tries for a prop too.
2. Dane Coles – He's transformed the hooker role into a player that can do it all. On top of his strong set piece, he can also pass or carry as well as a back.
3. Carl Hayman – He's a big man and definitely deserved the respect he got for having such a career. Dominated the scrum wherever he played.
4. Brodie Retallick – Like Dane, he's changed the role his position suggests. He can ball play and often slots in as first receiver. He can go all day too.
5. Bakkies Botha – You always need a big physical presence in your pack and he's not one to take much rubbish. Always keen to bully the opposition so he'd be handy to have.
6. George Smith – He can do it all and  it looks like every team he plays for is successful. I'm not surprised to have seen win the Japanese league recently. He's so influential on the field.
7. Richie McCaw – Everyone knows how good Richie was so it's hard to look past him. He was at the top of his game for so long. So influential on the Crusaders and the All Blacks.
8. Colin Bourke – A good mate of mine from our time playing for Bay of Plenty. Probably one of the most skilful forward I've ever played with. I'm not surprised he now plays flay-half in Japan!
9. Fumiaki Tanaka – The Japanese scrum-half is such a good character and a great team man. Gets to the ruck very quickly too and has a lightning fast pass. I rate him very highly.
10. Dan Carter – Like Richie, he's been at the top for so long. Rarely makes a mistake and if he plays well his team usually wins. Very influential in what he does.
11. Sitiveni Sivivatu – Don't be fooled by his casual style on the field because he can bamboozle any defence with his feet and dummies. Great mix of power and speed.
12. Wesley Fofana – I played with him at Clermont and he's just a freak! He's quick, strong and powerful. A real handful and France will miss his attacking sting during the Six Nations.
13. Tana Umaga – He warrants a lot of respect from a lot of people in rugby and everyone listens to what he has to say. Very hard player but he also had a lot of flair.
14. Akihito Yamada – I played with him at the Panasonic Wild Knights and he scores a lot of tries. He's so quick and can do things I've never seen wingers do like jumping over defenders.
15. Ben Smith – A great all round player who rarely makes mistakes. Like with Dan, if he's on form his teams win. So good under the high-balls and in counter attacks.