Room 101: Chris Johnson – Fylde fly-half

1. Box Kicks
I hate box kicks from lineouts, it is what I’d class as an ‘anti-rugby‘ tactic. Normally from a lineout you have clean ball and 20 metres of space between you and the opposition to play with, so why kick away the ball? South Africa, in particular, do my head in. Why, when you have the best lineout operator in the world in Victor Matfield would you not want use the ball more creatively? Sarries do it a lot too, it just breaks me to see Richard Wigglesworth putting up box kick after box kick as they persist with playing no-risk rugby in the opposition half. Needless to say, box kicks are banned at Fylde.
TRP verdict: You’ve ticked our box!
2. Loud Eaters
It grinds me when people unnecessarily slurp or leave their mouth open while they are eating. If you’re munching on an apple or tucking into a bag of crisps, then fine, but you really shouldn’t be making much noise when you’re eating soup or a yoghurt. My old boss at work was the worst offender, although Oli Brennand’s ‘clicky’ jaw at Fylde is quite annoying too.
TRP verdict: It sticks in our throat too, you’re in
3. Health & Safety
I work for quite a large company in the paper industry and you spend half your time learning up on Health & Safety regulations or attending courses on subjects such as ‘working at height’. What should be a five-minute job tends to last half an hour because of all the H&S procedures you have to take into account. Rugby’s gone soft too, in my opinion. We had a lad yellow-carded five minutes into a game for tackling someone around their chest on the halfway line. Rugby needs to go back to what it is – a man’s sport.
TRP verdict: ‘A4′ he’s a jolly good fellow … over-protective Health & Safety regulations should be filed away for good.