DREAM TEAM

1. Andrew Sheridan – Heard about his size and strength before I joined Sale and he was pretty impressive in the scrum, but he was a clever player as well with great hands.

2. Schalk Brits – Had all the qualities you’d look for in a front rower but he brought something unique with his running and ability to change a game.

3. WP Nel – Doesn’t say a lot but does his talking on the pitch and he’s made a big difference to Scotland’s front row. Great scrummager. 4. Leone Nakarawa – Unrivalled in terms of pure talent. A big part of Glasgow’s PRO12 success in 2015 with his ability to offload and step.

5. Richie Gray – My old flatmate at Sale and a hugely talented player with great work ethic. Big, physical guy who would bring good balance with Leone in my second row.

6. Filo Tiatia – When I was coming through at Glasgow we couldn’t beat the Ospreys and this guy was a big reason. Big, physical ball-carrier who you just didn’t want to run into. 7. John Barclay

– Played against him at school, then with him, and he’s always consistent. Good skills, useful out in the wide channels and a limpet over the ball.

8. Kieran Read – My first start for Scotland was against New Zealand and he was my opposite man. Fair to say he got the better of me! Such an intelligent rugby player. 9. Byron Kelleher – Glasgow went to Toulouse and we had a 25-point lead at half-time. We hung on in the end but this guy came off the bench and ripped us apart on his own. 10. Finn Russell – Instinctive, intuitive 10 who on his day is pretty much unplayable. There’s a bit of risk, but in terms of pure talent he’s fantastic and a pleasure to play with. 11. DTH Van der Merwe – Give him the ball in space one-on-one and he’ll finish every time. In key moments in big games for Glasgow, we could rely on him to score tries. 12. Peter Horne – With the back-three I’ve chosen you need a distributor at 12 and Peter’s outstanding. People underestimate how good he is but he’s solid for Glasgow.

13. Sam Tuitupou – Put in some of the biggest hits I’ve ever seen when I was at Sale. Not a massive guy but he’s so difficult to tackle and brings that physicality and fear factor. 14. George North – Always outstanding and so difficult to stop. Powerful winger who always delivered against Glasgow and Scotland… and he’s still only 26, which is frightening!

15. Stuart Hogg – Best attacking full-back in the world with great feet and positional sense. Every time he puts on a Scotland shirt, he produces something from nothing.