JORDON POOLE, THE COVENTRY AND FORMER YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE, DARLINGTON MOWDEN PARK & EXETER CHIEFS HOOKER, CHOOSES THE BEST XV HE HAS PLAYED WITH OR AGAINST...
1. Will Goodrick-Clarke – I first played against him as a 17-year-old when I was at Wharfedale on loan and he was at Richmond, and then again when he was at London Irish and I was at Exeter. He’s at Ealing now. Massive bloke. I’m surprised he hasn’t been capped.
2. Jack Walker – A tough choice between him and Luke Cowan-Dickie. I’ve gone with Wakka though because his skills for a hooker are ridiculous. Should have had more England caps in my opinion. A great lad, too.
Went from Carnegie to Bath and now at Quins. 3. Phil Boulton – The Champ Slugger with 300-plus appearances. Very solid scrummager and known at Cov as the King of the Inside Clear.
4. Dan Sanderson – Did well at Worcester and then at Leeds, where he helped me out a lot. I’m still regularly in contact with him.
5. Jonny Hill – Top lad, ridiculously tall and a good laugh. Knows everything there is to know about horses. I think he and Alex Cuthbert have their own racehorse together. A good athlete around the park.
6. Dave Ewers – The BFG, one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say a bad word about him. An absolute beast around the park. The amount of tries he either scored or assisted by latching on to blokes or picking them and driving them over the line was ridiculous.
7. Matt Kvesic – Was lucky to play with him at Chiefs and Coventry and also against him when he was at Worcester. An absolute nuisance at the breakdown.
8. Ryan Burrows – Prime ‘Buzz’ was just something else. Made the Championship Dream Team four or five years on the bounce. People couldn’t stop him. Deserved to make the step up to the Premiership sooner than he did.
9. Will Chudley – The grandad of the group, having just turned 36. Still runs the show in the Champ. I don’t know how he didn’t get an England cap. He’s an absolute joke of a player who is a vital part of every team he has
