Chris Robshaw: The Premiership Team of My Life as ex-All Blacks star misses out to ‘most dedicated’ Owen Farrell while ‘hard as nails’ forward hailed

To kick off the New Year, we caught up with former England skipper and Harlequins legend, Chris Robshaw, to pick his brain on the best XV he has played with or against in the Premiership.

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.

With 300 appearances for the London club, and a Premiership title in 2012, Robshaw‘s career spanned 15 seasons and saw him pick up the Player of the Season award twice.

Read on – it’s a team stacked beyond belief!

Chris Robshaw’s Dream Premiership XV

15 Anthony Watson (London Irish, Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers):?“Like Manu (Tuilagi), an England shoo-in when fit. Anthony’s superpower was his footwork to beat players in traffic and he did that at any level you picked him at.”

14 Chris Ashton (Sale Sharks, Northampton Saints, Worcester Warriors, Harlequins and Leicester Tigers):?“A double code legend and at his best when at Sarries and Saints, he has a nose for the try-line like no other and is still the Premiership’s leading all-time try-scorer. A dual code international, I often wonder if he was used effectively as a Test player?”

13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks):?“Manu made such a difference to any side he played in because he fixed the attention of defences and created space for others just by being on the pitch. I think he’s very underrated at Test level – England were a different side when he was fit and firing.”

12 Seilala Mapusua (London Irish):?“Simply immense. His impact in 2008/09 when he got the RPA Player of the Season award showed how much his fellow pros rated him. Huge, direct and skilled.”

11 Bruce Reihana (Northampton Saints):?“1032 points from 236 appearances demonstrates the impact Bruce had on the Premiership. A world class finisher but also one of the most intelligent distributors you’ll come across.”

10 Owen Farrell (Saracens):?“One of the most dedicated and hardest working players I’ve ever encountered. He set the standards of any team he played for. Owen’s greatest skill is knowing what he has to win a game with and creating a strategy around those players. Immense.”

9 Danny Care (Leeds Tykes and Harlequins):?“He made his debut before me and he’s still trucking. A man I have shared so much with and someone who has developed his game year on year. The heartbeat of the Harlequins style and someone I respect and love greatly.”

The forwards

8 Nick Easter (Harlequins):?“If DC is the backline heartbeat of Quins, then so much of the forward abrasion came from ‘Minty’. Remarkably skilled with cricketer’s hands, his ability to make metres in contact was a massive influence for us. A key leader too who has rightly moved into coaching since retirement.”

7 Jacques Burger (Saracens):?“Hard as nails. You would wake up the day after a clash with him aching all over and if you got the better of him you knew you’d done well. One of the unsung heroes of the great Sarries side and a top man off the pitch too.”

6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints):?“I played so much Test rugby with Big Courts and I watched him evolve from a leggy lock into a world class blindside flank. Courtney’s biggest quality is his simplicity – he talks sense, directly and honestly, and players listen to him, because he’s been there and done it. World class in every aspect.”

5 Maro Itoje (Saracens):?“When people suggest Maro is off peak or out of form, then they must be only comparing him to his own standards, as even on a poor day he’s so influential. I’d use the word ‘relentless’ to describe him – not the biggest or strongest, but on the 79 minute mark he’s still hitting and carrying as hard as in the first.”

4 Simon Shaw (Bristol Bears and Wasps):?“A player I don’t think England used particularly well, possibly because they considered he and Martin Johnson were a little similar. But he bloomed on that 2009 Lions tour and reminded all of his pedigree. A massive man and someone you could build a set-piece around.”

3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers):?“I have to pick Coley for two reasons; firstly, he’s a brilliant tighthead, one who went from the mobile back-row convert in his early years to the behemoth scrummaging bear in his latter years. Secondly, it would give Marler someone to talk to that would actually listen to him!”

2 Schalk Brits (Saracens):?“The smiling assassin! One of the most skilled all-round players you’d ever encounter. And that rare breed – a hooker that got punters in through the turnstiles. That says all about ‘Schalla’ – but I’ll also add one of the best guys to have a beer with post game you’ll ever encounter.”

1 Joe Marler (Harlequins):?“Joe is as colourful and as complicated as the Quins shirt he wears with so much pride. He’ll be remembered for so many things in rugby, but I will always remember him for being one of the very best props I have ever played with or against, for club and for country. We’re all watching with anticipation to see what the next chapter of his life will be – and I can assure you it’ll be as entertaining as he always was.”

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