
Rugby
Share
Published 15:56 25 Apr 2025 BST

On the latest episode of the Offload podcast, with former Ireland players Tommy Bowe and Donncha O'Callaghan, the latter recounted an embarrassing tale involving one of the greatest players of all time.
The topic of idols came up, with Bowe singling out ex-All Black winger Christian Cullen as a player he looked up to, while O'Callaghan waxed lyrical about former England and Lions captain, Martin Johnson.
Johnson also captained the Welford Road-based Leicester Tigers, and in one of their clashes with Munster, O'Callaghan had a moment with him that he would rather forger.
The former Munster lock said: "You nearly feel bad as an Irish person saying it.
"That Lions tour in '97, Martin Johnson was up on a pedestal for me. He honestly became like, that's how I wanted to play rugby.
"I loved everything he was about, I liked the way he went about his business too, and he was gnarly.
"I got to play against him in Welford Road, and I'll never forget it.
"They had us under the pump at one point, and they'd just kicked the corner, that old-school Leicester pack.
"And I remember we needed a few minutes, and I actually scooped off my boot, and the ref was there like 'we'll hold up for him'.
"Martin Johnson went 'forget about him, he did that on purpose, drive on', and the ref said 'it's for his boot, we have to stop for two minutes.'
"I'll never forget it, he stood over me, and it was like Hagrid from Harry Potter, there was no light from anywhere else.
"I looked up and there's this icon, and I remember he just went 'hurry up'.
"And lads slagged me about it because I went 'I'm very sorry Mr. Johnson'. I tucked in my lace and sprinted back to the line out."
Explore more on these topics:

Leinster and Munster fans debate footage of alleged ‘groin grab’ in derby
Big allegations! The big story coming out of yesterday’s match was the allegation made by Munster’s Gavin Coombes. The No 8 alleged that he had been grabbed in the groin by a Leinster player at a ruck. At the time, the TMO and referee had a look at the alleged incident, but could not find […]
Rugby
4 days ago
We picked our Munster – Leinster combined XV of the 21st century
A sensational team! With Leinster welcoming Munster to the Aviva Stadium today, here is our combined XV of the 21st century. Argue amongst yourselves! Loosehead prop – Cian Healy One of the easier selection in the side, without disrespecting the other options. The Leinsterman was really just that good, and was a true trailblazer as […]
Rugby
6 days ago
Rugby
We picked our 34-man Ireland squad for November’s Nations Championship
Rugby