Martin Johnson won one World Cup with England and could have a hand in another triumph after a pep-talk he gave to rookie scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.
The legendary 2003 captain went into old club Leicester last season to speak to rookie leaders about what it takes to succeed in the game leaving jaws on the floor with his address.
Van Poortvliet was in awe as Johnson, who also led Tigers to two European Cup triumphs, spelled out what it takes to succeed at the top level. And the 21-year-old admits the words of Johnson were still ringing in his ears at last week’s beachside England camp in Jersey.
“We have had Johnno in at the club, he spoke to a few of the younger lads, and he spoke about how special that was and how amazing that whole experience was of winning that World Cup,” said Van Poortvliet.
“He is one of those characters: He is a very, very impressive individual and the way he speaks about his time as a player – I will remember some of the things he said for a very long time.
“I remember coming out of it extremely inspired. One thing I did take was he never missed a session whether it was Tigers, on a Monday after a game, he never missed a session and he was on it all the time and you get that sense from his other players when you hear about him.
“It was a big thing we took as young players, if you want to improve you have got to be on it and focused in every session you do on the field.
“That just makes you the taste for it grow even more. That is the ultimate goal for this squad, to win a World Cup, and it is the ultimate drive for us. We know we haven’t got many games until the World Cup so we have got to make sure we make the most of every game leading up to it and making sure we get better.”
Van Poortvliet was in Jersey with Leicester teammate Ben Youngs and Sale‘s Raffi Quirke vying for the starting No.9 jersey against Argentina at Twickenham next Sunday.
Youngs missed the summer tour to Australia as did Quirke as he was nursing a hamstring injury. Throw in Danny Care, Alex Mitchell and the currently injured Harry Randall and England have scrum-halves coming out of their ears a year out from the World Cup.
Van Poortvliet put his flag in the sand down under, making a try scoring debut in Perth, starting the second Test in Brisbane and coming off the bench early to help England clinch the series in Sydney.
But, as usual, that was not enough for Eddie Jones who gave the youngster a Johnson-like talking to before England headed home. Van Poortvliet added: “He spoke to everyone at the end of the series and the big message he had for me was you can’t take it easy now, you have got to keep pushing. He was big on it is always harder second time around and to keep your spot so to keep pushing and keep improving was his main message.
“I have been competing with Ben for a few years at Tigers, and it has always been healthy competition, and it makes us better and it is the same with Raffi, we are all competing, and competition will only make us better. We are looking to push each other.”
