Dream Team: Micky Young – Bath and former Newcastle & Leicester scrum-half

1. Carl Hayman – The New Zealander’s work rate is huge, he’s a prop but he probably makes the most tackles in the game. When I played at Newcastle with him he was particularly awesome in the scrum.
2. George Chuter – A great team player and a massive joker so will always raise spirits and his experience is so valuable on the pitch.
3. Martin Castrogiovanni – The Italian is a brilliant prop and has such a big presence in any team. He’s deadly in the scrum and he’s a really good friend of mine.
4. Stuart Hooper – He’s an unbelievable leader at Bath. Stuart works really hard, attacks the lineout and is very effective at breaking up play.
5. Geoff Parling – I played with him at Tigers and you can’t beat his work rate. A solid lock who is always effective in the lineout and his aggressive play is what you want to have when your backs are against the wall.
6. Tom Croft – A fantastic blindside. He is unbelievably quick – one of the most rapid on the pitch – so it’s so tricky to get a tackle on him. The sort of guy you want on your team because he’s so tough.
7. Francois Louw – Incredible work-ethic and brings so much experience to the team. He makes an unbelievable amount of tackles and can always be relied on.
8. Adam Balding – When I broke into the Newcastle team he really helped me out, and on the pitch he’s a complete wrecking ball. You don’t want to come up against him because he will just smash you off the pitch.
9. Neil de Kock – One of the top scrum-halves. He is a great attacking threat with a huge engine and has top-drawer decision making.
10. George Ford – He works hardest on and off the pitch. His goal-kicking is awesome and for a young guy he has a great head on him. Oh and I live with him – he cooks and cleans so an all-round good guy!
11. Alesana Tuilagi – I’ve never seen anyone who combines size and speed like him – an absolute nightmare to play against and very hard to bring down.
12. Jamie Noon – An absolute powerhouse who smashes through people without even trying. He was a very dynamic player because he had great speed and he was awesome when I was at Newcastle.
13. Manu Tuilagi – A powerful player who has the ability to twist and turn away from people and he is strong in the tackle. I think there is still a lot more to come.
14. Tom Biggs – A brilliant, rapid winger who is very difficult to get hold of, let alone bring down. He is great to have as a go-to and I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear me say he has the biggest guns in the league!
15. Mathew Tait – You want him as full-back because he gives the team such confidence. He’s so quick off the mark and will beat the first tackler time and again. He’s also a deceptively strong  player and aggressive in the tackle.