“He was a real force” – Sam Warburton ranks his toughest opponents

Warburton's selection, which he made in his recent book, Open Side, included six All Blacks, but two huge names were missing.

Stuff.NZ  reported the former Wales captain's selection under the headline "Warburton snubs Richie McCaw and Dan Carter" after the two legends were omitted.

Warburton said: "I didn’t play against anyone who was better than him (Pocock). For me, he was a real force, in the northern hemisphere, if you’re looking at openside flankers I think he’s the most highly regarded, I always say he was my most difficult opponent."

Sam Warburton's best international team he's faced: Israel Folau (Australia), Bryan Habana (South Africa), Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland), Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand), Julian Savea (New Zealand), Jonny Wilkinson (England), Will Genia (Australia), Andrew Sheridan (England), Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa), Carl Hayman (New Zealand), Paul O'Connell (Ireland) (c), Sam Whitelock (New Zealand), Jerome Kaino (New Zealand), David Pocock (Australia), Kieran Read (New Zealand)

Replacements: Guilhem Guirado (France), Cian Healy (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), Maro Itoje (England), Richie McCaw (New Zealand), Aaron Smith (New Zealand), Dan Carter (New Zealand), Stuart Hogg (Scotland).