Rugby World Cup winner Martin Johnson wows audience with stories
A Rugby World Cup-winning captain came to meet the great and good of Staffordshire rugby union at a popular venue.
Martin Johnson, who lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy as England captain in 2003, was the guest of honour at Bar Sport in Cannock for 'An Evening with Martin Johnson'.
The dinner event brought rugby fans and players from clubs across Staffordshire and the local area to meet Johnson and also enjoy a gourmet four-course meal and drinks reception, with VIP tickets allowing a professionally-printed photo with him as well.
It was the latest in a long line of star dinners at the Bar Sport Premier Suite, with the former England captain following in the footsteps of people such as Lennox Lewis, Steve Bull, Joe Calzaghe and Pele.
Johnson said he enjoyed doing events like the one at the Premier Suite as it was a chance to tell some stories and chat with people.
He said: "These events are good because it's just nice to chat to people and people enjoy hearing the old stories, even though I've probably heard them a million times, but people seem to enjoy hearing them.
"I think I'll end up talking about a bit of everything and it's just your experiences and I actually find it interesting listening to other sports people and even other rugby players, as even those players I've played against have their own takes on things.
"It's just a bit different to hear the other stories and experiences and what they did and how they felt about it and how they enjoyed it, so these events are good fun."
The event itself saw a capacity audience enter a raffle for different prizes, including a signed ball, and bid on different memorabilia as part of an auction.
It was hosted by former England and Bath player David Trick, who kept the proceedings rolling along through dinner and speeches, before former world champion boxer Richie Woodhall took over the interviewing duties with Johnson.
The chat went through how Martin first took up rugby, his journey to playing for Leicester Tigers and eventually becoming captain at the club and being picked for England.
With plenty of anecdotes about players he had played with and experiences he had had, Johnson also provided details about his three Lions tours, including the honour of captaining two tours in South Africa in 1997 and Australia in 2001.
The part of his career everyone wanted to hear about was his time with England and, in particular, the 2003 World Cup in Australia and the subsequent win in the final against the hosts in extra time.
Richie Woodhall said he has been one of the many supporters jumping around his living room when Jonny Wilkinson kicked the winning drop-goal and said it was a pleasure to be able to interview someone like Johnson.
He said: "I normally do all the boxing interviews for Scott Murray, who owns this place, but he came to me a few weeks ago and asked if I'd fancy interviewing Martin Johnson.
"I said 'absolutely' as I went to a very rugby-orientated school and played myself up to the age of 16, so I love rugby union and I jumped at the chance to interview him as he's a legend of the sport."
