Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio reveal their toughest ever opponents

Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 09:37

byRugby Rucker

Lawrence Dallaglio and Martin Johnson have both opened up about the toughest players they respectively faced in their illustrious playing careers.

The 2003 World Cup-winners, along with three of their teammates from that triumph in Sydney, snubbed a number of top stars.

Martin Johnson: Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)

JOHNSON SAID: “A guy like Jonah Lomu could do things that nobody could do and change games. Nobody else on the field would have scored that try and they went on to win the game. But even he needed his teammates… sometimes he didn’t.”

Phil Vickery: Richie McCaw (New Zealand)

Lifting the 2011 World Cup in his backyard was a fitting tribute to one of the greatest ever All Blacks, but he went on to secure true legendary status as he continued for four more years, breaking record after record and uniquely hoisting the Webb Ellis trophy for a second time.

VICKERY SAID: "Played against him a few times for England.We spent our whole week just preparing to play against him, let alone the other guys. I wish I had the chance to play with him."

DID YOU KNOW? McCaw was appointed a member of New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, in the 2016 New Year Honours

Richie McCaw facts:

McCaw’s great-great-grandfather immigrated to New Zealand from the Scottish Borders in 1893. As tribute to his roots, the legendary All Black has learned how to play the bagpipes
He has won the World Rugby player of the year award a joint record three times and was the most capped test rugby player of all time from August 2015 to October 2020
McCaw was awarded World Rugby player of the decade (2011–2020) in 2021
It was revealed at his retirement announcement in 2015 that McCaw would work at Christchurch Helicopters, where he is a Director and Shareholder, and was obtaining a commercial helicopter licence
In December 2011, then Prime Minister John Key revealed that he had asked McCaw about the possibility of a knighthood in the 2012 New Year Honours, but that McCaw had turned it down

Lawrence Dallaglio: George Smith (Australia)

The scourge of the Lions at the age of 20 and more than 100 caps to his name for the Wallabies before he was 30. An absolute pest and nuisance at the breakdown.

DALLAGLIO SAID: "The pioneering, definitive breakdown specialist in the professional era who combined dexterity and ferocity to slow down and steal opposition ball. There were more strings to his bow, though, because he had good hands and could kick. Incredible longevity too."

Jason Robinson: Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)

Has one man ever done more to popularise the game of rugby than Jonah? When he burst onto the scene at the 1995 World Cup, it was like a meteor landing from outer space.

ROBINSON SAID: “He was built like a forward. When you play nearly seven years in rugby league and 10 in rugby union, but he was completely different. He didn’t just traumatize players, he traumatized teams. He was about 18 stone, he could run as fast as any winger and he had a sidestep.”

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Jonah Lomu Facts:

He weighed 120 kg and was 1.96 metres tall, but could run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds
In 1996, McDonald’s New Zealand named a burger after Lomu
He’s the only rugby player ever to feature on the front cover of TIME magazine
According to the Telegraph, Leeds were ready to make a third bid to attract All Blacks giant Jonah Lomu to England in 2001
He played 63 tests as an All Black, scoring 37 tries
In 2001 he helped New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Jonny Wilkinson: Christophe Dominici (France)

Dominici played 67 times for his country and won the French championship five times with Stade Français before retiring in 2008. In recent years he had worked as a pundit for French radio and TV before his death in 2020.

WILKINSON SAID: “His opportunism, his flair, his game reading, his sheer explosivity to really change a game is something that sticks in my memory.”

DID YOU KNOW? Dominci appeared in three World Cups for his country in 1999, 2003 and 2007, scoring eight tries over that time.

Richard Hill: George Smith (Australia)

DID YOU KNOW? Richard Hill was the only player Sir Clive Woodward never dropped

HILL SAID: "I had some pretty good tussles with George Smith. He was only just coming onto the scene, but was obviously already a very good player. His strength was over the ball.

"He always wanted to tackle as a second man, rather than make the tackle himself, so he could concentrate on stealing possession. That meant I had to alter my game and try to remove him from the contact area as quick as possible, rather than actually contest the ball itself.

"He was someone we had to analyse a lot, but every time we found a weakness to his credit he always sorted it out soon afterwards."