40 – Steve Ravenscroft – Centre

Another of the old guard who transcended the amateur/professional switch and performed right up to the millennium. Will always be remembered as the bloke next to Sella in the midfield, which is a shame as he was a great player and worthy of more than his two England caps.

39. Dave Seymour – Flanker

Here because if he wasn’t, Kat would kill me.

38 Roberto Grau – Prop

If you like your props old-fashioned; big, tough, strong, great at scrimmaging and a little on the dirty side, then Argy-Bargy is your man. Allegedly a victim of the implementation of the first salary cap, he had to go to make way for other, more expensive, less effective players, when neither he, nor we, wanted him to.

37. Nick Walshe – Scrum half

Worthy of a place here for being able to fill in admirably for Bracken and whoever was at outside half and for that quick tap-and-go down at Bath in 2001 that sent Timmy Horan over for the winner and the Fez into raptures.

36. Kameli Ratovou – Wing/Centre

Looked a little uncertain when he first arrived fresh from Fiji, but as he settled into his new life in the cold that goes with being a wing in the northern hemisphere, he realised quickly that he had to get involved with the others. Still not the finished article as far as I am concerned, but if he does get to that stage – watch out!

35. Ben Johnston – Centre

Seemed to be around forever but couldn’t quite find the consistency, due to form or injury, to keep him in the first team. Was capped at a young age (picking up two, just like his predecessor Ravenscroft) and we all thought he might go places. But not to Northampton whose medics found him too much of a risk to play for them after he had signed a deal to take him up the M1. Brive snapped him up, along with fellow Saints medical failure Steve Thompson and he’s still down there playing in the top 14. One wonders how he might have turned out at Saints. Then again, one doesn’t.

34. Ben Skirving – Number 8.

The heir-apparent to Tony Diprose, he was paraded as an 18 year old by Reebok as the next best thing alongside their truly awful shirts back in 2002. It all looked good for a while before he stopped his rapid early progress and settled into a rhythm that took him no further. Michael Owen’s arrival and competition for his place has helped him once again realise his potential.

33. Ben Russell – Flanker/No.8

Burst onto the scene against Wasps and proved he was no respecter of reputations as on debut he outplayed none other than Lawrence Dallaglio. Proved the same again after giving Martin Johnson a bloody nose in a scrap that got them both sin-binned which was a pity, as I was enjoying it at the time.

32. Noah Cato – Wing

I know he’s been around about five minutes and that the next best thing on the wing is a here today, gone tomorrow occupation, but you could tell instantly that Noah is something really special. Quick, big, strong, elusive, albeit in need of a haircut after which he will go a long way.

31. Nick Lloyd – Prop

Another one of those players who bided his time while others were picked ahead of him, but when he got his opportunity, he showed that was as good as any in the squad; probably in the league. A great ball carrier and no mean scrummager, a great asset to any squad in the modern age.

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