Dream Team: Kris Chesney – Esher and former Saracens and Toulon lock

1. David Flatman – He was very young at the time, very raw but quite aggressive. He went on to be a great player and I was lucky to play alongside him at Saracens.
2. George Chuter – Hugely underrated. People don’t realise how skilful he is. Good at the lineout, an impressive scrummager and useful round the park too. I can’t say too much about the cricket bat to the head rumours, but nothing would surprise me.
3. Carl Hayman – A fantastic scrummager and his skills around the park made him like an extra back rower. Julian White was probably the best pure scrummager but Carl had everything.
4. Danny Grewcock – A big aggressive brute. He was mobile and ahead of his time when he played. You always knew you would be in for a long afternoon when you went up against him.
5. Simon Shaw – I was lucky to play with him at Toulon, he’s a big lump and a real pain in the backside at the breakdown. I would be really pleased for him if he got on the Lions tour next year.
6. Francois Pienaar – He wasn’t renowned for his ball skills but he hit hard, rucked hard, ran hard and never dropped anything. He was also a born leader.
7. George Smith – His skills were fantastic. Steffon Armitage is great as well but George was like a blanket over the ball when it was loose. I was lucky to play alongside both of them at Toulon.
8. Richard Hill – I’m putting Hilly at eight to accommodate George at seven. You have to fit Richard in for his work rate. When you looked at the video after a game you saw just how much he did.
9. Kyran Bracken – A fantastic player who punched above his weight. He led the forwards and wasn’t scared to get stuck in so was like a ninth forward.
10. Jonny Wilkinson – Such a great leader on th pitch. I think it’s a real shame he’s not still involved with England, and apart from Jonny Sexton, is probably the standout ten for the Lions.
11. Jonah Lomu – I came up against him on a few occasions playing sevens. Lomu was ahead of his time. Even as a second row you didn’t fancy having to tackle him.
12. Sonny Bill Williams – He is a freak of nature and those skills are quite unbelievable – the complete modern rugby player.
13. Philippe Sella – He had so much skill and a massive change of pace. I played with him for the last few years of his career at Sarries but he was still very fit.
14. Jason Robinson – Defending against him was like tackling shadows. You’d dive at his legs and end up embarrassed!
15. Percy Montgomery – He was so consistent under the high ball and great with the boot. It was an honour to play with him for the Baa-baas.