Dream Team: Alex Cheesman- Cornish Pirates and former Wasps flanker

1. Ricky Lutton – He is now playing at Ulster as a tighthead, but I played with him at University at loosehead where he was an awesome scrummager and pretty nippy, too!
2. Anton Oliver – I was lucky enough to play with this All Black legend at Oxford. He was tough and a great presence on the pitch, but he was a really kind, generous guy off of it as well.
3. Alan Paver – He’s a Pirates legend, and deservedly so. His commitment to the team and his ability at the scrum is second to none, and he’s still going at 40 years old.
4. Dan Vickerman – He was a physical, uncompromising player, and a special lineout forward, captaining Cambridge in the Varsity Match before returning to Australia to make the World Cup the following year.
5. Samu Manoa – I played against him when I was younger and his carrying and skills were just awesome.
6. Stan McKeen – He’s a former Canada and Pirates player, but we played together at Oxford University for three years. He was as tough a player as I’ve seen and a great guy, too.
7. Jonathon Poff – He’s a really talented ball player, and great over the ball. Just awesome for Wasps.
8. Dave Ewers – I only played a handful of times with him, but his sheer size and strength meant he stood out every time.
9. Tom Kessell – He’s a real running scrum-half with an awesome pass, and also not shy of getting stuck in, it was a pleasure playing with him at Pirates.
10. Jimmy Gopperth – Such a great goal kicker but also has incredible handling skills. He was brilliant for Newcastle when they were in the Championship.
11. Doug Howlett – I played against him in a pre-season friendly once while he was at Munster, he had amazing pace and has scored so many incredible tries.
12. Sam Hill – He is such a strong and talented player, and, although I can’t ever remember seeing it, the rumour at Pirates is that he’s been known to eat a whole packed lunch at halftime!
13. Juan Pablo Socino – He was great against Pirates while playing in the Championship, with all the skills but also such a strong defender.
14. Christian Wade – I played with Christian at school as well as later on at Wasps. His ability to beat people one-on-one is so well known now, but he’s also great under the high ball and works really hard on his game.
15. Matt Evans – Mevs is a committed, hard running Canadian who had an awesome World Cup for Canada, and an even better season for Pirates.