"Awesome playmaker" - Martin Johnson’s all-time XV is spectacularly good - Ruck

“Awesome playmaker” – Martin Johnson’s all-time XV is spectacularly good

England legend Martin Johnson picks his greatest XV rugby union team of all time, but there is no room in his selection for Lawrence Dallaglio, Shane Williams, Brian O’Driscoll or Jason Robinson.

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 first player to have ever led the elite tourists on two occasions.

In a glittering career Johnson was also part of two Grand Slam-winning England sides in 1995 and again as captain in 2003.

Here, Johnson names his stunning dream team.

BACK-THREE:

Fullback: Serge Blanco (France) – “A great France full back who dominated games.”

Winger: Joe Roff (Australia) – “You’d put David Campese up there but Roff is my choice. A fantastic all-round rugby player, and old-style wing.”

Winger: Jonah Lomu (New Zealand) – “Not much difficulty in choosing one of the most awesome wings to have ever played.”


CENTRES:

Outside-centre: Philippe Sella (France) – “I used to watch him as a kid on TV and think he was brilliant; and then ten years later I played against him and he was still brilliant. He still looks as if he could play for France today. One of the best backs I’ve ever seen. If you hit him it was like running into concrete.”

Inside-centre: Danie Gerber (South Africa) – “Scored a hat-trick against England in the first half in one match in the 1980s. He didn’t play many Tests because of apartheid, but he had power and pace. I don’t know if he could pass: it seemed like he never needed to. I played against him in a charity match in 1996 when he must have been well into his 40s, he was still awesome.”

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