Martin Johnson - what has happened to him?

[prand]

I was thinking about some of the old England managers, and I was wondering what happened to Martin Johnson, who really disappeared off the radar in 2011 when he left the England manager's role.

I always thought, even though he wasn't "that" bad, he was completely the wrong person at the wrong time to hold the job. England needed a clean sweep after the extended 2003 hangover. And it was just too early for a player like him (however good) to step up to such a level of politics and public scrutiny, when it was clear he could only really rely on his motivational skills as capitain and reputation and goodwill as the leader of the 2003 RWC team.

Perhaps that experience ruined the game for him and he has withdrawn and we will now lose his public presence for ever. Which would be a shame.

There's an article I just found that said he managed to get banned from driving, caught doing 107 on the M5. AS newspapers like to do, it fills in some background details: He seems to have a pretty comfortable family life, holiday home in Salcombe, driving a powerful Range Rover, earning £55-60k a year (which doesn't seem excessive), and does a fair bit of charity work. But no real public persona, or apparent involvement in the game, or sport in general.

I expect he is still involved in some way with Leicester, but is there a job for him in rugby to match the heights of RWC winner or 6N winning coach?

Edited by prand on Thursday 13th February 11:33

[Pothole]

I saw him in the co-op in Kibworth Beauchamp a few years ago.

[southendpier]

Pothole said:

I saw him in the co-op in Kibworth Beauchamp a few years ago.

The first part of the jigsaw is in place.

[Cheib]

The only time I have seen him in public was when all the 2003 RWC winning players paraded before the game in the Autumn....picture here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/24792321

I am sure he found it all a rather bruising experience. I'd have thought he'd make a great forwards coach somewhere....perhaps abroad where he is not in the spotlight so much.

[Pothole]

southendpier said:

Pothole said:

I saw him in the co-op in Kibworth Beauchamp a few years ago.

The first part of the jigsaw is in place.

HTH!

[Pothole]

I lied, it was Kibworth Harcourt.

[Bradgate]

I Go to matches at Welford Road fairly frequently and sometimes see him in one of the corporate boxes. You can't really miss him!

I have not seen him working as a media pundit recently. The TV bosses probably think his face will scare the viewers.

[anonymous-user]

Sounds like phers have pretty much covered his entire whereabouts for the last few years.

[prand]

Cheib said:

The only time I have seen him in public was when all the 2003 RWC winning players paraded before the game in the Autumn....picture here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/24792321

I am sure he found it all a rather bruising experience. I'd have thought he'd make a great forwards coach somewhere....perhaps abroad where he is not in the spotlight so much.

Yes that's what I think too. I can think of a lot of players of his era now forging a career in coaching, media or journalism. Maybe the England job gave him enough to not have to work again, and indeed he is fed up of the whole Rugby (and RFU in particular) circus and has withdrawn as much as he can. Perhaps we'll see him back in some way or another, I really hope so.

Interestingly my wife keeps bumping into Martin Corry in the Oracle Office in Reading, he's now an account manager there, though I suspect he spends a lot of time being wheeled out for client hospitality events!

[prand]

Bradgate said:

I Go to matches at Welford Road fairly frequently and sometimes see him in one of the corporate boxes. You can't really miss him!

I have not seen him working as a media pundit recently. The TV bosses probably think his face will scare the viewers.

Just like the made for TV face Will Greenwood!

Maybe with RWC2015 we will see him a bit more - just imagine the pundit dreamteam of him and Sean Fitzpatrick together!

[Bradgate]

prand said:

Yes that's what I think too. I can think of a lot of players of his era now forging a career in coaching, media or journalism. Maybe the England job gave him enough to not have to work again, and indeed he is fed up of the whole Rugby (and RFU in particular) circus and has withdrawn as much as he can. Perhaps we'll see him back in some way or another, I really hope so.

Interestingly my wife keeps bumping into Martin Corry in the Oracle Office in Reading, he's now an account manager there, though I suspect he spends a lot of time being wheeled out for client hospitality events!

Martin Corry is an absolutely top bloke.

I was once standing on the terrace Welford Road watching a reserve game on a miserable weekday evening when I heard the rattle of a collecting bucket behind me. I turned round to see Corry, who was England captain at the time, carrying the bucket to raise money for the Matt Hampson Trust (a former Tigers prop who was paralysed when a scrum collapsed).

I doubt I would ever bump into John Terry in similar circumstances.

[Derek Smith]

I saw Johnson at a level 5 RFU match. The club asked for 'space' and I was therefore reluctant to approach him. However, he dominated the room. The players were less circumspect but he didn't seem put out by the attention. He thoroughly enjoyed the match.