Signed Rugby Memorabilia- A signed player issued trainer by England captain Martin Johnson from the 2003 RWC. This is the right trainer, issued to Martin Johnson as part of his kit for the 2003 RWC. It is signed boldly across the front

A rare player issued trainer which belonged to Martin Johnson former England captain and current England coach. It was part of the England kit issued to players for the 2003 World Cup. It has been signed by Martin and is displayed in a display case which photo and brass plate. It is 100% authentic and with all our items comes with a Coa and money back guarantee. It was signed in person by Martin at the Rib & Rump restaurant, Manley Beach Australia during the Rugby World Cup 2003. It comes complete with a Coa. The trainer shown is the right trainer of a pair. The left side trainer is also available and will be supplied if the right trainer is sold. 

A real rare and valuable piece of signed rugby memorabilia. A gem of a piece that was signed in person by Martin Johnson, the RWC 2003 winning captain.

Bibliography;
Martin Osborne Johnson CBE was born 9 March 1970 is an English former rugby union player who represented and captained England and Leicester. He is known for captaining England to victory in the World Cup in 2003. He became the new England team manager in July 2008,replacing Brian Ashton. He's regarded as one of the greatest locks to have ever played.He toured 3 times with the British and Irish Lions, becoming the only man to have captained them on two separate tours. He also led his club Leicester Tigers to back-to back Heineken Cup victories and won the league 6 times. Despite him having no coaching experience, he was appointed team manager of the England Rugby Union side in April 2008.

Early life

He was born in Solihull in the West Midlands, the 2nd of 3 brothers - his younger brother Will plays back row forward for Leicester. At the age of seven, his family moved to Market Harborough, which eventually led him to playing for Leicester Tigers.
In his early career he briefly played American football for the Leicester Panthers as a tight end or defensive end. In 1989 he was approached by former All Black Colin Meads to have a trial for the King Country side in New Zealand.His trial was successful and he played two seasons for King Country. In 1990, he was selected for the New Zealand under-21 side which went on a tour of Australia.
On his return to England he started playing for Leicester Tigers and stayed with them throughout his career until he retired from the game in 2005.In 1997 with the retirement of Dean Richards, he was made club captain but only captained the side when Richards was not playing. In 1997 Leicester won the Pilkington Cup and reached the final of the Heineken Cup.He retired from international rugby in January 2004 but continued to play for Leicester until 2005. Under his captaincy from 1997 to 2003 the Leicester Tigers won four Zurich Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups.

International Career

His international career began when he made his test debut against France in January 1993 under dramatic circumstances. He was due to play in another game when he was unexpectedly summoned to Twickenham to replace the injured Wade Dooley. With barely any proper preparation he was thrown into the deep end as England won 16-15. He then went on to become part of the side that won the 1995 Grand Slam. He was also called up to the 1993 Lions tour as a replacement, playing twice. Lawrence Dallaglio was appointed England captain by new England coach Clive Woodward. However, he took the captaincy in 1999 after Dallaglio was caught in a honey trap by the News of the World. Under his leadership, England moved away from being a forward-dominated side and towards the 15-man rugby that Woodward wanted them to play. He was asked to captain the Lions tour to Australia in 2001, becoming the only player to captain them twice. 

British Lions.

He was selected to captain the 1997 British Lions tour of South Africa. The Lions won the first test at Newlands 25-16 with Neil Jenkins kicking 5 penalties and Matt Dawson and Alan Tait scoring tries. Despite scoring three tries in the second test at Durban, the Springboks suffered from some poor goal kicking and failed to land any penalties or conversions, whilst the Lion's Neil Jenkins once again kicked 5 penalties to level the scores at 15-15 before Jerry Guscott dropped a goal for an 18-15 lead which they never lost and so took the series. The final test at Ellis Park proved a match too far for the Lions squad and they lost 35-16. The tour was a triumph for the Lions management of Fran Cotton (Manager), Ian McGeechan (Head Coach), Jim Telfer (Assistant Coach) and the Captain Johnson. It was the last occasion on which the Lions returned victorious from a tour until the 2013 tour to Australia.

The 2003 Rugby World Cup.

The 2003 Grand Slam season was followed by a successful tour to New Zealand and Australia. Among the highlights of the successful tour was the 6-man England scrum, (with 2 back row forwards in the sin bin), which held off pressure from the All Blacks, when he famously told his team mates in the scrum to "get down and shove". England's 25-14 victory over Australia, he also performed at a monumental level, leading the former Australian captain, John Eales to commend his display as 'among the best ever by a lock forward'. England took this form into the 2003 World Cup, where they won crucial matches against South Africa, Wales and France, beating Australia in the final to win the cup with an extra time drop goal.

Honours

He was awarded the CBE in the 2004 New Year honours and was second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards behind Jonny Wilkinson.His testimonial match and farewell to competitive rugby, held at Twickenham on 4 June 2005, was one of the biggest rugby events of the year. It was historic in another way as the match marked the return of All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu after recent health problems. Johnson's XV defeated Lomu's 33-29. The proceeds from the match went to children's and cancer charities.

Coaching career

In November 2006 it was rumoured that the then England rugby coach, Andy Robinson, was to be sacked and Johnson was one of many names speculated about. The RFU eventually selected Brian Ashton for the role but he was sacked and in April 2008 he was appointed England team manager, and England started the Autumn internationals by beating the Pacific Islands 39-13. That was followed with a loss to Australia, another 42-6 defeat to South Africa and then finally another loss 32-6 to New Zealand.
England had 4 wins under him going into 2009; in the Six Nations 2009 they beat Italy 36-11, France 34-10 and Scotland 26-12 but were defeated by Ireland by 14-13 and to Wales by 23-15. They did however, come second in the 2009 Six Nations ahead of 2008 Champions Wales.
In the 2010 Six Nations tournament, they won their first two games against Wales and Italy, lost against Ireland, drew with Scotland and lost against France, allowing the French to win the Grand Slam.He took the team into the 2011 Six Nations and won the championship, but unfortunately they underperformed in the 2011 Rugby World Cup and he was sacked in November 2011, to be replaced by Stuart Lancaster. He is no longer active as a coach or manager as of 2013. 


Honours

Leicester
Premiership 1994-95, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02
Heineken Cup 2001, 2002
England
Six Nations 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2003
Grand Slam 1995, 2003
Triple Crown 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003
World Cup 2003
Lions
New Zealand tour 1993 as replacement, losing 2-1
South African tour 1997 as captain, winning 2-1
Australia tour 2001 as captain, losing 2-1

Personal information

Full name Martin Osborne Johnson
Date of birth 9 March 1970 (age 40)
Place of birth Solihull, West Midlands, England
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight 18 st 10 lbs (119 kg)
Nickname Jonno

Rugby union career
Playing career

Position Lock
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (Points)
1989-2005 Leicester Tigers 307 (40)
correct as of 12 January 2011.

National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (Points)
1993-2003 England 84 10
1993, 1997, 2001 British Lions 8 0

correct as of 12 January 2011.

Coaching career
Years Club / team
2008-2011 England


A MUST FOR ANY COLLECTOR OF SIGNED RUGBY UNION MEMORABILIA. 

AUTHENTICITY

All signed items are supplied with a COA and lifetime guarantee,which carries our full name and contact details,we do not sell pre-printed,autopen or any other form of fake signature 

ABOUT US

We have been a collector for over 20 years privately,and have supplied quality autographs to both Trade and public full time for over 2 years.

We supply quite a few local businesses with framed items for resale.

POSTAGE AND PAYMENT

We will combine postage on multiple purchases if purchased within a couple days of each other,All items are posted in either frame boxes or heavy duty jiffy bags ,or postal tubes or proper cd boxes.All items are insured to the value of the item (less post and packing)

We post daily,so if paypal is used 90% are posted the next postal day. 

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Dimentions:   54cm H x 44cm W x 10cm D