In the second instalment of Team of my Life, we caught up with Harlequins and England legend Nick Easter to discuss the best XV that he played with or against.

We have partnered with eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby, to bring you this series, Team of my Life, in which a famous face from the world of rugby recalls an ultimate XV.

Without further ado, here is Nick Easter’s XV – and one thing is for sure, this team doesn’t lack for poundage!

Nick Easter’s Team of my Life

15 Jason Robinson (England): “At his best, the most devastating runner I have ever seen in either code of rugby. His superpower was his acceleration and he was a McLaren F1 car off the mark. Get square on defending against him and you were toast. Astonishing player, wonderful person.”

14 Shane Williams (Wales): “If Robinson is my McLaren, then Shane is my Ferrari. Similar to Robbo in so many respects and a devastating finisher from the highest drawer. We always feared any team with Shane on the wing.”

13 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland): “Probably the most complete 13 of all time and someone who’d mix it with the forwards in the breakdown as much as he’d mix it with the backs with the ball in hand.”

12 Yannick Jauzion (France): “An enabler for all around him – he created so much space for others, although I found it hard to separate him and Ma’a Nonu – I played v Yannick more so he’s my choice.

11 Bryan Habana (South Africa): “Bryan completes my back three – and he’s another absolute baller. Would genuinely have loved to see these three lads together – it would have been box office.”

10 Dan Carter (New Zealand): “Given I played with Wilko [Jonny Wilkinson] on that evening in Paris where he literally took us to the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final almost singlehandedly, I was torn between these two greats. But Carter 2005 was sensational and he’s the more complete player on account of his gas.”

9 Fourie du Preez (South Africa): “Never quite got the plaudits of others in the Northern Hemisphere but he was an orchestrator par excellence – able to move packs around with brilliant kicking and keep you honest with pace around the fringes. An absolute world-class player.”

8 Mamuka Gorgodze (Georgia): “Physically the most powerful man I’ve ever encountered in my career. World-class in any of the back five positions and a player that kept anyone awake at night wondering how to cope with his strength.”

7 David Pocock (Australia): “A clamp over the ball, impossible to shift and highly s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed around the park, ‘Bam-Bam’ was a real handful whether at six or seven.”

6 Juan Smith (South Africa): “The most complete back-row I ever encountered. A Rolls-Royce runner, hard as nails and a wonderful lineout forward. A completely brilliant package.”

5 Victor Matfield (South Africa): “Much more of an athlete than some gave him credit for; happy to come into the line as a receiver as much as he was dominating lineouts.”

4 Simon Shaw (England): “World-class, underused by England and a rock of every pack he ever played in. His record speaks for itself.”

3 Carl Hayman (New Zealand): “Changed the way we think about tightheads – there were moments when he defied the perception of front row forwards, yet his scrummaging was up there with the best.”

2 Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa): “You could cut and paste what I said about Hayman and place it in a hooking context and you’d have Bismarck. The best of the best.”

1 Andrew Sheridan (England): “A powerhouse prop who dominated the 2007 Rugby World Cup like no other. His performance against Australia in the quarter-final was career-defining as he tore the Wallabies to shreds.”

Nick Easter’s Team of My Life is brought to you by eToro, the official investing and trading partner of Premiership Rugby.

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