Martin Johnson CBE

summary

World Cup winning captain
Grand Slam winning captain
Two-time British & Irish Lions captain.
Leader of Leicester Tigers to back-to-back Heineken Cups, four successive English league titles, one Pilkington Cup and the inaugural Zurich Championship.
Even if you have never seen him take the field, the bare statistics of Martin Johnson’s career are impressive enough.

biography

World Cup winning captain
Grand Slam winning captain
Two-time British & Irish Lions captain.
Leader of Leicester Tigers to back-to-back Heineken Cups, four successive English league titles, one Pilkington Cup and the inaugural Zurich Championship.

Even if you have never seen him take the field, the bare statistics of Martin Johnson’s career are impressive enough.

Johnson’s first international steps were with the England Under-18s, although his next step was somewhat unusual for, having graduated to Leicester’s senior squad in 1989, he spent time in New Zealand playing for King Country.

While in New Zealand Johnson won a place on their Under-21s tour of Australia. Fortunately for England he chose to return home and selections followed for the Midlands, Barbarians and the 1992 England ‘B’ tour to New Zealand.

But it was only as a late replacement for Wade Dooley that Johnson received his call-up to the full England squad in the 1993 Five Nations.

His impact was such that when Dooley had to return home from that summer’s Lions tour, Johnson was the natural choice as replacement.

Though ultimately unsuccessful, the trip highlighted Johnson’s international credentials and he was back in the England squad for the 1994 Five Nations.

Although he helped England power their way to a 1995 Grand Slam, Johnson’s career went into overdrive with the 1997 Lions tour to South Africa. A surprising choice as captain, he repaid coach Ian McGeechan’s faith by leading them to a 2-1 spectacular series victory.

It was inevitable that Johnson would be made captain of club and, in 1999, country. But while success took its time to settle on the national side, Leicester’s dominance of the English and European club scene was immediate.

The 1998 Pilkington Cup was followed by four successive league titles. Leicester also became the first club ever to successfully retain the European Heineken Cup.

He also became the first man to lead the Lions twice when he skippered the 2001 tour to Australia.

The year of the rose though was 2003 with an elusive Six Nations Grand Slam won in Dublin, a first victory in New Zealand in 30 years achieved, followed seven days later by a demolition of Australia.

This was only a precursor of what was to come. Hot favorites for the World Cup, England fought their way through to the final, where they would face the hosts Australia.

Johnson guided his team through 120 tense minutes and lifted the Webb Ellis Cup to cap what can only be described as a remarkable career.

Martin was also awarded a CBE in the 2004

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