Ollie Phillips’ Team of My Life: ‘Master’ Jonny Wilkinson and the man with the ‘biggest cosmetics bag in rugby’ make the cut

In the last instalment of Team of My Life, we welcome England’s greatest Sevens exponent of all time, the former Stade Francais, Harlequins, Newcastle and Gloucester wing, Ollie Phillips.

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.

Phillips represented England on over 80 occasions in the short-form game, named World Sevens Player of the Year in 2009 and was voted Overseas Player of the Year in the Top 14 in 2011.

Here he picks a line-up of the greatest players he’s played with or against.

Ollie Phillips’ Team of My Life

15 Matt Burke (Australia): Matt was everything you’d want in a full-back. A rock under the high ball, genuine gas into the line and of course, an exquisite goal kicker. He played international Sevens early in his career and I often reflect that Aussies, who grow up playing AFL, are all brilliant in the air as a result.

14 Jonny May (England): Young May at Gloucester was a raw pacy thing – genuine gas. But the great thing about him was his appetite for learning and improvement. His Test try-scoring record speaks for itself.

13 Mathew Tait (England): Tait may have had a rough introduction to Test rugby, but his vision and skill level was something England were really short of during his time. I believe he deserved a lot more caps than he got.

12 Mathieu Bastareaud (France): Mean, moody, magnificent. And probably the most liked man in the game off the pitch. ‘Baster’ was a human cannonball and could double up as a number eight when needed. A rock of a man and a friend to many.

11 James Simpson-Daniel (England): What could have been? ‘Sinbad’ was crippled though injury – whenever he got near form he’d break just as he was firing. I’ll never forget the moment he stood Jonah Lomu up – Simpson went one way, Daniel went the other and Jonah was left holding the hyphen!

10 Jonny Wilkinson (England): Even given the plaudits, I don’t think people realised just how good ‘Wilko’ was. He was the master of winning matches with threadbare resources. His performance against France in the 2007 World Cup semi-final was still the best display of fly-half control I’ve seen.

9 Rory Lawson (Scotland): A real rugby intellect, someone who would challenge every aspect of a defence. And of course, he’s Bill McLaren’s Grandson! That’s a definite selection plus in my eyes!

8 Sergio Parisse (Italy): To play alongside Sergio was eye-opening. The guy had a better pass off either hand than our scrum-halves, was the best lineout operator I’ve seen and caught balls like Adam Gilchrist. If there was a crown for the most talented all round rugby player of all time, Parisse is a strong contender. Magnificent, and a great companion for a night in Paris.

7 James Haskell (England): ‘Hask’ is one of the great characters of rugby. He’s as subtle as a hurricane on and off the pitch, great sense of humour and a hugely underrated player with massive physical attributes.

6 Tom Croft (England): A lineout king, gas like a Test winger and a high rugby intellect. As a Sevens player with England in 2006, his aerial work was astonishing, some of the best I’ve seen.

5 Geoff Parling (England): Geoff is back in English rugby now at Tigers, a club he represented with such honour. His Lions 2013 efforts showed how underrated he was and, like Crofty, he was a total lineout nause.

4 Pascal Pape (France): Pape was the epitome of a modern mobile tighthead lock. He could play in the back-row at a push, and his five tries in 65 Tests showed his nose for the try-line, something I saw many times playing with him at Stade Francais, where he crossed 20 times in his 190-odd matches.

3 Carl Hayman (New Zealand): Peak Carl was the best tighthead of the professional era. He was massive – you’d mistake him for a lock – but hugely mobile and a man that hit his tackles and carries like a back-rower.

2 Dimitri Szarzewski (France): A front-rower with film star looks and the biggest cosmetics bag in rugby, ‘Dimi’ was a freakish athlete and contributed hugely to Stade’s Top 14 win in the 2006/07 season.

1 Sylvain Marconnet (France): Ask any tighthead of that era about pure brute strength and Marconnet’s name will be the first mentioned. A brilliant scrummager rarely bettered, but someone who didn’t take life (or rugby) too seriously. Someone to lead the party, of that I can assure you, but a world class prop to boot.

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