Dream XIII: Jamie Peacock
Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Peacock has picked his dream England squad from players he played alongside during his career for Super League TV.
Peacock started his career with Bradford in 1998 and went on to make 207 appearances for the club, scoring 42 tries.
The former prop or second-rower then moved to Leeds in 2006 where he played 272 games and scored 26 tries for the Rhinos.
He made a staggering 26 appearances for Great Britain as well as earning 21 caps for England.
Peacock is a very decorated player in the sport, having won nine Super League titles, five League Leaders’ Shields, four Challenge Cups and four World Club Challenges.
The former Yorkshire representative won the Man of Steel award in 2003 and was also awarded an MBE in 2012.
And the now Football Manager of Hull KR has named his all-time England Rugby League team from players who he played with.
Line-Up:
1 Paul Wellens
JP: “There has to be honourable mentions to Kris Radlinski and Zak (Hardaker) with the play he played in 2015. But Wello was an outstanding fullback and an outstanding leader. I first played with him in 2000, woke up and thought ‘what a tough player he is!’. It was his passion for winning that got it for me. He always wanted to win at everything.”
2 Ryan Hall
JP: “Hally has been a fantastic player over the last 10 years. He has really blossomed as a player and I think he ticks all the boxes for a winger. He’s scored an incredible amount of important tries. A weird man but a very good player!”
3 Keith Senior
JP: “He was a beast of a man. A huge bloke, he prided himself on playing in big games against the Aussies and always delivered. He was tough to play against when I was at Bradford and he was at Leeds so I was glad when I moved to Leeds and he was on the same side as me. One of the tightest men alive though!”
4 Kallum Watkins
JP: “Currently he is the most exciting player to watch within Super League, with his real athletic ability but also his ability to score a try. When I played with him at Leeds and England, I always tried to get the ball to him because when you get the ball to Kallum then things happen.”
5 Jermaine McGillvary
JP: “For the rest of my team, I’ve picked players who I have played with but this is one person I played against. He deserves to be in there because I would’ve loved to have played with him and that was Jermaine McGillvary. I think he’s an outstanding player. I love his enthusiasm for the game, he carries the ball harder than any other winger I’ve seen in the last 15 or 20 years.”
6 Kevin Sinfield (C)
JP: “His game management in big games was second to none. He was the best in this country in the last 20 years and in big games, his ability to hold his nerve, kick well and to score high pressure two point kicks was better than anybody by some distance and a great captain.”
7 Sean Long
JP: “I’ve gone for Sean Long. He was a real maverick with the ball but had a deep understanding of the game and like any other good player, I thought he was a real competitor. He always wanted to win and it was good to play alongside him in 2006 when we beat the Aussies.”
8 Adrian Morley
JP: “He was a trailblazer at the end of the 20th century, going back to Australia and intimidating the Aussies. He was certainly the toughest player I played with or against by some distance.”
9 James Roby
JP: “This is difficult because it’s English players. My choice would’ve been Jimmy Lowes but Jimmy decided to opt for Ireland so my choice here is James Roby. I think James Roby is a fantastic player and he is that good every week that he gets unnoticed because he is nine out of 10 every week. He is fantastic player, great skills and an unbelievable work ethic.”
10 James Graham
JP: “I think James revolutionised the game a bit with how the game was played with the ball as a prop when he came through and he was a real competitor with that as well. He wants to win everything, an absolute must win with everything and physical as well. We had some great run-ins in our time at Saints and Leeds.”
11 Sam Burgess
JP: “He’s the best player I’ve played with, bar none. I think he can go on to be the best player England has produced since Ellery Hanley.”
12 Gareth Ellis
JP: “Without doubt, the hardest tackling player I’ve played against. I chipped all my teeth once when I played against him. I think what speaks volumes about Gaz Ellis is that he went down to Australia and won the Player of the Year three years running at Wests Tigers. Wherever he has gone, he has made a difference at that club.”
13 Paul Sculthorpe
JP: “I’ve gone with Paul Sculthorpe but I could’ve easily gone with Andy Farrell or Sean O’Loughlin. But with Paul, when I started playing for Great Britain, he would always be the best player on the field. And for periods in the game, he was absolutely untouchable and my final 13 would be Paul Sculthorpe.
“I’ll be honest, I think that could give the Aussies a run for their money.”
You can watch the full video on Super League TV below:
