Fans are only just realising that England’s legendary World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson once pulled on the famous black jersey of New Zealand.
Legendary All Black Colin Meads invited the raw but promising teenager to New Zealand to play for the King Country province in 1989 and Johnson would play three times for the All Blacks under-21s – beating the Aussies in Sydney in 1990 – and later married a Kiwi.
Johnson could have stayed Down Under and qualified for NZ but chose the Red Rose instead of the Silver Fern and beat them at their own game as a player home and away.
Five more players who swapped nations:
#1. Stuart Barnes – England/Wales
Although born in Essex, he was to captain Wales Schools. Such was his speed and talent, he made the leap from the U15s to the U19s after one season, and became an ever-present (he didn’t miss a schools international for four years between 1976 & 1980), also captaining the team on several occasions.
However, Barnes made his England debut against Australia in November 1984. He gained ten caps for England and played his last international match in 1993 against Ireland.
DID YOU KNOW? He graduated from Oxford University with a third-class honours degree in history
