DREAMTEAM

RICH LANE, THE BEDFORD AND FORMER BATH AND JERSEY WING, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST...

1. Mako Vunipola – He has gone on to do unbelievably well for England and the Lions and is so solid in the scrum. One of the best props in the world at the moment.

2. Tom Dunn – The most committed man I know, putting his body in places a lot of people wouldn’t, an absolute warrior.

3. Simon Kerrod – I have never known anyone who loves scrums as much as he does, I’ve never seen anything like it! He’s always watching scrum videos and weirdly always eats crushed up egg shells for bone recovery.

4. Ryan Caldwell – A big Irish bloke. I remember him being one of those people you didn’t want to play against – painful to tackle and ran hard with strong long limbs.

5. Will Spencer – Had a difficult time with injuries over the last few years but he is an absolute monster and a good ball carrier.

6. James Freeman – My old Jersey mate makes tackles for fun and is all over the park. A huge engine who always empties the tank for the team.

7. Francois Louw – An extremely tough man who is the king of turnovers and a

very experienced player both domestically and internationally.

8. Carl Fearns – He is doing well over at Lyon at the moment. He is just an absolute tank that runs through men and he is skilful and quick.

9. Chris Cook – Very talented scrum-half with terrific hands. He was a few years above me at school and it was inspiring

to watch him.

10. Brendan Cope – I have never seen a fly-half tackle like he does. So much so that he could play in the back row. If he kicks on this year there is no reason he shouldn’t get picked up by a Premiership club. 11. Anthony Watson – One of the most elusive and dangerous players around. Hopefully he will get selected for the Lions Tests as he has done well on tour so far. 12. Ngani Laumape – I played against him when he was touring with his school. He absolutely tore us apart that day and isn’t doing too badly now for the Hurricanes either. He is a human wrecking ball. 13. Jonathan Joseph – He makes it look as easy at top level as he did back at Millfield School. He is gifted with great pace and can regularly get over the gain line. He’s another I’d love to see in that Lions Test team. 14. Semesa Rokoduguni – What can’t this guy do? His stats for defenders beaten and tries scored has just been so consistent since joining Bath. He is one of the stand out wingers in the Premiership.

15. Nick Abenadon – I learned so much from him as he makes counterattacking look so easy. Was great at Bath and since he has gone to Clermont Auvergne he has really kicked on.