World of Boxing and Rugby Union
Lock
1. Martin Johnson
A giant of the game in more ways than one, Johnson is widely regarded as one of the greatest locks to have ever played the game. As a player he famously led England to glory at the 2003 Rugby World Cup and also captained the British & Irish Lions in 1997 and 2001 - the only player in history to have ever led the elite tourists on two occasions. Johnson, like all great players, delivered when the stakes were at their highest - dominant in the line-out and brutally effective in the tight exchanges.
He was a colossus of a man who always led from the front and expected every player to give his all. His gritted determination never to give up until the final whistle was legendary. For Jonny Wilkinson to say ‘he felt safe’ when Johnson was on the pitch demonstrates the massive influence this great leader had on the team. Simply put his leadership was inspirational – best of the best.
In a glittering career Johnson was also part of two Grand Slam-winning England sides in 1995 and again as captain in 2003.
Johnson began his international career against France in the 1993 Five Nations Championship and called time on his England career shortly after his side's memorable Rugby World Cup triumph in Australia a decade later. An inspirational leader for club and country, only Jason Leonard and Rory Underwood have pulled on an England shirt more times while Will Carling is the only captain to have led England on more occasions.
On the domestic stage he played all his club rugby for Leicester Tigers, making his debut in 1989 before going on to make a total of 307 appearances before hanging up his boots in 2005. During his 16-year career at Welford Road he led them to back-to-back Heineken Cup titles in 2001 and 2002 and also five Premiership titles including four in-a-row between 1998-99 and 2001-02.
Johnson's development was handed a timely boost when in 1989 he caught the eye of All Blacks legend Colin Meads who invited the raw but promising teenager to New Zealand to play for the King Country province. Johnson took up the offer and would go on to be capped by New Zealand U21s. He returned to the UK in 1990 and his international bow followed in 1993 when England coach Geoff Cooke called him up as a late replacement for the injured Wade Dooley. Thrown straight into the starting line-up, the lock held his own as England notched a narrow 16-15 victory. He was subsequently called up to the 1993 Lions tour to New Zealand as a replacement and featured in two Tests. England secured the Grand Slam and a fourth place finish at the Rugby World Cup in 1995 with Johnson at the heart of both campaigns and another Five Nations title followed in 1996.
His leadership potential was identified by Lions coach Ian McGeechan who handed him the honour of leading the tourists to the home of the then world champions - South Africa. It was here that Johnson's reputation took a big step towards legendary status as he steered the Lions to an historic 2-1 series triumph.
Following Lawrence Dallaglio's brush with the tabloids in 1999, Johnson was given the captaincy of England by coach Clive Woodward and the duo would lead England through their most successful period ever. Six Nations titles followed in 2000 and 2001 and there was little argument as Lions coach Ian McGeechan once again turned to Johnson to lead his squad to Australia. This time the Lions were edged out 2-1 in an entertaining and thrilling Test series.
It was 2003 that proved to be the pivotal year not only in Johnson's career but in the history of English rugby with the inspirational lock leading from the front. First came the elusive Six Nations Grand Slam - sealed with a thumping victory over Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Their Championship success was followed by a morale-boosting trip to the southern hemisphere where they recorded back-to-back wins over New Zealand and Australia. Notably in the hard-fought win over the All Blacks in Wellington, England produced a superb defensive display to deny the hosts despite having two players in the sin-bin. England produced arguably the best performance of modern times to account for the Wallabies the following weekend.
England entered the Rugby World Cup in Australia later that year as joint favourites with New Zealand and although thanks largely to Johnson's leadership and boot of flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson they notched key victories over South Africa, Wales and France before beating the hosts in a memorable final. As a result Johnson became the first Englishman to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.
He announced his retirement in January 2004.