Johnson savours Slam showdown

IF Martin Johnson is to be believed — and it would take a brave man to call him a liar — he cheered the loudest when Ronan O’Gara threaded his late drop kick in Cardiff last Saturday.

That kick kept Ireland's Grand Slam hopes alive for a winner-take-all joust with England in Dublin on Sunday. The English skipper and all in his charge could not be happier.

The last Lansdowne Road encounter ended with an Ireland win and the visitors Grand Slam dream in tatters. Johnson, forced out with a hand injury on that occasion watched helplessly from the stands, choking on the emotion.