EXCLUSIVE: Eurosport catches up with rugby legend Martin Johnson and finds out a little bit more about England's 2003 World Cup winning skipper.

Martin Johnson (pictured) has been in huge demand recently; no surprise when you consider he was the most respected player of his generation and the last to hold aloft the Webb Ellis Trophy.

When Johnno speaks people tend to sit up and listen. It was no different during his playing days. He was a captain who led very much by example, but when he did speak his words more often than not had the desired effect.

Needless to say, his thoughts on the World Cup have been sought by media and fans world-wide and already they have been very well documented via his association with the Visa Rugby Legends.

Eurosport caught up with Johnno in Paris recently and rather than seek further views on the current tournament, we decided to try and learn more about this mountain of a man.

Johnno still cuts a very imposing figure. It is easy to see how, with one furrow of his brow, he was able to strike a psychological blow against opponents from all corners of the rugby world.

But he is clearly an articulate and bright individual and thankfully he was more than happy to answer the questions we threw at him, some rugby, some non rugby.

Eurosport: Johnno, thanks for meeting with us today. We'd like to start by asking you at what age you started playing rugby and for which school or club?

Johnno: Eleven years old, Welland Park High School, Market Harborough.

ES: Have you always played in the second row?

Johnno: No, I started playing at number eight before moving to lock at the age of 16 or 17.

ES: Did you excel at any other sports when you were younger?

Johnno: I didn't excel but I certainly played them. But I wasn't one of those annoying guys who are county standard at everything he does!

ES: You seemed to have a good engine during your playing days: what about your sprinting ability, have you ever been timed at 100m?

Johnno: No, and I probably would have been one of the slowest players at 100m in the 2003 (England) squad! But what I did have was good endurance. My mum was a distance athlete so I have good endurance genes. My strength was playing for 80 minutes, rather than being the quickest thing on two legs.

ES: How about the infamous beep test, which required players to run between two points, with the time allowed reduced at regular intervals?

Johnno: Backy (Neil Back) was very good at that one; it was a very stop start fitness test so with him being a shorter guy it was easier for him. When you are 18 stone, like me, it was not so easy going. I think I got up to around 14, which was a lot less than Backy. But if we did an interval session, say over 200 or 300m, then Backy's going down!

ES: Johnno, you're renowned as having a good general sports knowledge - is this true?

Johnno: It's ok, good on some sports but not so good on others. I think I'm over-rated - I prefer the quirky stuff.

ES: So is it ok if we test it a little and throw in a few random sports questions as we go along?

Johnno: Go on then.

ES: Ok, let's start with a boxing question: who did Muhammad Ali beat to win his first world heavyweight title?

Johnno: Well, he was known as Cassius Clay back in those days and he beat Sonny Liston. In fact he beat him twice: Liston stayed on his chair in the first fight and then Ali (Clay) hit him with that famous short punch the second time they met.

ES: Correct. Back to the rugby now: which opponent did you least like playing against and why?

Johnno: When you played against the really good players there was always the chance you'd get beaten, but you still wanted to play against them because you wanted to test yourself against the best - challenge yourself. If there is one player who stands out it is Robin Brooke of New Zealand. In my position, which was the front jumper at the lineout, he was the best player in the world during the 1990s.

ES: Hope this one is not too personal: did you have a first dance at your wedding and if so, what was it?

Johnno: Yes we did, but you'd have to ask my wife what it was. She was in charge of the music. If it had been left to me then we'd probably have gone for The Jam or something along those lines.

ES: Curry or Chinese?

Johnno: The impossible question (long pause). Impossible to answer that one!

ES: No problems. Back to rugby. We hear of players sometimes throwing up in the changing room before games; how nervous did you get before a match?

Johnno: I used to get nervous, but then you learn to control those nerves so that you actually enjoy them and use them as part of your build up. Actually, if I wasn't nervous then I would have been worried.

ES: How nervous were you the night before the World Cup final?

Johnno: One of the least nervous I had ever been for a Test match. Just because we had such a good team and we believed in ourselves. We were amazingly relaxed, considering. The most nervous we were in that tournament was against South Africa. You would not have believed the difference in the tension of the team before that game and before the final.

ES: Bit more trivia now. Which Cuban athlete won the 400m and 800m men's athletics gold medals at the.......?

Johnno: (before the question was finished) Alberto Juantorena, 1976 Montreal Olympics. It has never been done since.

ES: We're impressed. So how about nicknames; did you have one when you were playing?

Johnno: I had numerous nicknames when I was playing - the one that comes to mind was given to me by Brian Moore. He said I looked like a Ferangi, which is an alien species from Star Trek. I suppose he had a point, but he never played for England again after calling me that!

ES: James Bond or Jason Bourne?

Johnno: (frowning) No contest - James Bond of course, and Sean Connery while we're on the subject!

ES: Is it true you once lumped your Leicester team-mate Lewis Moody during a training session? If so, what had he done to wind you up?

Johnno: Yes it's true. He'd been a naughty boy. He was being his usual lunatic self, he needed calming down and wouldn't listen. I caught him with a lucky jab and he went down like a little boy. Actually he walked right onto it. A warning shot across the bows and he stupidly walked onto it! He'd been injured for about a year before that and I couldn't believe that I may have injured him again! But he was ok. In fact, he thought it was fantastic because he was back on the rugby field. I wasn't the only one to thump him that day.

ES: Do you have a favourite book or books?

Johnno: Not one individual book. I like historical novels.

ES: What was the first car you owned and what do you drive now?

Johnno: I owned a white Ford Sierra and I now drive a Mercedes.

ES: Another trivia one now, and I suspect you'll get it quite easily. Who scored the winner in the 1980 FA Cup final between West Ham and Arsenal?

Johnno: Easy, it was Trev, Trevor Brooking with a header.

ES: Back to rugby. Do you think you will ever return to rugby in a coaching or managerial capacity?

Johnno: Er, I don't know. Maybe.

ES: Are you a decent swimmer and can you swim butterfly?

Johnno: I can swim, but compared to a good swimmer I'm not decent. I've been trying to swim quite a lot this summer. It's the breathing that kills me. And no I can't do the butterfly.

ES: Another trivia one: in which year did John Daly with the The Open Championship and over which course?

Johnno: I don't do golf!

ES: Fair enough. So what would you have done had you not become a professional rugby player?

Johnno: Well, I was in fact amateur when I started out and I worked for the HSBC bank. But I don't know what I would have done. Who knows?

ES: So what age did you reach six foot?

Johnno: Not exactly sure, certainly by 11 or 12. But I was this big (6'7") when I was 15.

ES: You played a little bit of American football when you were younger. Which position did you play?

Johnno: I didn't play much but I played a little bit at tight end and a little bit at defensive end.

ES: How about holidays? Do you have a favourite place to go on holiday?

Johnno: Not a favourite place, no. I like the States, beach holidays in Europe. The Mediterranean takes some beating. I also like Canada, New Zealand, it depends on what you want to do.

ES: Back to sports now: Which men's tennis player has won the most grand slam title and how many?

Johnno: Not great on tennis either, but I'd say Sampras. Don't know how many though.

ES: You're correct with Sampras - he won 14 grand slams. Two more than Federer. On with the questions: are you any good in the kitchen and do you have a signature dish?

Johnno: I'm a very, very basic cook but that's the kind of food I like. I love pasta so something with pasta would be by signature dish.

ES: What size feet do you have?

Johnno: Size 13. For my height, they're not huge.

ES: Last trivia one now: which American high-board diver banged his head while competing at the 1988 Olympics?

Johnno: Louganis, Greg Louganis.

ES: And finally, if England don't win it then who would you like to win?

Johnno: Well it's not easy for me to say this, but I could see the attraction of France winning it. A victory for the hosts could be a good thing.

ES: Many thanks Johnno, and I hope you enjoy being a spectator this time round at the World Cup.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport