LUKE COZENS, THE CLIFTON PLAYER-COACH AND FORMER BATH, HARTPURY & ROUEN FLY-HALF CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST
1. Yann Thomas – Current Bristol Bear and played with him in France, Rouen. Great bloke and good at two things. scrummaging and singing.
2. Dave Ward – Played a lot of A-League at Bath with him. Questionable arrows but unquestionable around the park, ridiculous ability to turn the ball over and a fearless competitor.
3. Wilfrid Hounkpatin – Current Castres and French international, teammate in Rouen. Saw his potential early doors, a freakish athlete with exceptional power and speed. Possible World Cup wildcard.
4. Devin Toner – Played with him for Lansdowne RFC in Ireland, a monster of a man and guaranteed lineout ball. Leinster and Irish legend; great career.
5. Joe Owen – Clifton RFC, has just signed a three-year deal at Bristol Bears. Missed by all academies but earnt his first pro deal off the back of his performances last season. Not the finished package but has all the potential and athletic ability to make it.
6. Ross Moriarty – A young man at Hartpury College when we played together, but a ridiculous level of aggression and relentless. Was dishing up fully grown men at 18. Animal.
7. Tom Rees – Played against him in the A-League as a young man, and the bloke was ridiculous alongside James Haskell in their back row. He'd have won a lot of caps if injury hadn't cut his career short.
8. Semisi Taulava – Teammate of mine at Rouen, also played for Worcester. A Tongan man-mountain at 22st 8lbs, they don't come much bigger. Guaranteed gainline carries but also had a lovely pair of hands and is a great bloke.
9. Danny Care – Played England U20s with him and he made a mockery of our training camp. Played the game on a different level to most and is still doing it now. Special mention to my French partner-incrime Richard Bolt, too.
10. Andrew Mehrtens – NZ legend, lucky enough to play against him twice when I was 19. His ability to orchestrate was second to none and his spiral was a thing of beauty. Stood miles away from the 9 too, and not many got their hands on him.
11. Gabin Villiere – Current Toulon and French international and former teammate at Rouen. No one would have predicted what he has gone on to achieve. Bounces through contact, is immense over the ball and possesses a predator's instinct to score tries. Could well be lifting a World Cup next year.
12. Ryan Davis – Played some of my best rugby at Bath with him at 12. His ability to read the game and communicate at a young age was far beyond his years and he punched above his weight in defence. Him and Tom Cheeseman were first-team regulars in midfield, aged 19. Pretty impressive.
13. Ben Mercer – Lifetime friend and teammate in Rouen. Not the best skillset but a good athlete with an outside break and we scored many tries together off chipand-chase plays. Wrote a book about our French experiences called Fringes, and I'm still waiting for my commission.
14. Matt Banahan – Alltime record Bath try-scorer. Was in the academy with him and played A-League in the second row until Brian Ashton moved him to the wing. Big man who was hard to stop and a defensive monster. His stats do the talking.
15. Matt Perry – Played a couple of games with him at the end of his career. A Bath and England legend and as humble as they come. We used to watch him as kids so to play with him was special.
