When picking his all-time dream team of players, England legend Martin Johnson listed his five favourite second-rows from down the years.
Johnson won 84 England caps and quit Test rugby at the start of 2004, just two months after leading Sir Clive Woodward’s team to Rugby World Cup victory in Sydney.
He also had huge success as captain of Leicester, guiding the Tigers to back to back Heineken Cup victories and several Premiership titles.
“The 1990s and early 200o’ss was a great era for locks. A lot of these guys were very special – I wasn’t in their league.”
Here are the five players named by Johnson.
1. Colin Meads (New Zealand)
The 55-cap second-row is widely considered one of the greatest players in history. Nicknamed ‘Pinetree’ due to his physical presence, he was an icon within New Zealand rugby, and was named the country’s Player of the Century at the NZRFU Awards in 1999.