 Johnson bowed out in style |
Martin Johnson made an emotional farewell to rugby at Twickenham when his team edged past Jonah Lomu's XV. Substitute Leon Lloyd sealed a narrow win with only two minutes to go and man-of-the match Austin Healey had a hat-trick before a crowd of 42,100.
But Johnson was the star of the show, signing off a career that claimed every honour including the 2003 World Cup.
Lomu, returning from two years out with a kidney disease, looked handy before hurting his shoulder while scoring.
The towering winger failed to reappear for the second half, dampening an otherwise encouraging comeback.
Afterwards Lomu, who has targeted a 2007 World Cup spot, said: "I enjoyed it. This was the stepping stone for me. I'm starting again and I want to reach the top again. You have to start from somewhere and this is the start for me.
"I'm pleased with where I'm at but there's a long way to go. We'll see how bad the shoulder is and we'll take it from there."
Healey had been lined up to mark Lomu but a late change of plan gave Ayoola Erinle that dubious honour.
 |  That was a brilliant way to go out |
Play was scrappy with handling errors, but the southern hemisphere eased into a seventh-minute lead when a sublime chip from Carlos Spencer was collected by Lome Fa'atau.
Healey replied with a try under the posts and Noon combined again to send the Tigers ace over for his second, but Lomu answered with a try in the left corner.
Spencer restored the southern hemisphere's lead in the 55th minute after good work from Eric Rush and they extended their advantage when a loose pass from Healey was taken and finished by Matt Burke.
But Healey made amends with a 69th minute solo try which he capped with a swan dive.
And then substitute Lloyd wrapped up the match with a simple run-in after substitute Pat Howard had created space.
Afterwards, Johnson insisted he was happy with his decision to retire, despite the emotion of the occasion.
| It was a great honour to be there - it's the start of a dream for me |
"I've never been surer that I'm doing the right thing. I'm absolutely positive," he said.
"I'll walk away and won't be doing a George Foreman, although maybe I'll be selling toasters in four years' time!
"That was a brilliant way to go out. It's amazing that all these guys turned up because it's so difficult to get the team together and prepared in a couple of days.
"I was more emotional than I thought I'd be - I thought I'd just play and walk away. To get a crowd of 42,000 for a match like that is amazing.
Martin Johnson XV: Gregor Townsend; Austin Healey, Tony Marsh, Jamie Noon, Ayoola Erinle, Andy Goode, Kyran Bracken; Tom Smith, Raphael Ibanez, Darren Morris, Martin Johnson (capt), Chris Jones, Joe Worsley, Olivier Magne, Sebastien Chabal.
Replacements: Jonathan Humphreys, Will Green, Victor Costello, Anthony Foley, Will Johnson, Morgan Williams, Rob Henderson, Leon Lloyd.
Jonah Lomu XV: Bruce Reihana; Lome Faatau, Matt Burke, Daryl Gibson, Jonah Lomu (capt), Carlos Spencer, Mark Robinson; Kees Meews, Daniel Coetzee, Dave Hewitt, Greg Rawlinson, Troy Flavell, Justin Collins, Corne Krige, Toutai Kefu.
Replacements: Trevor Leota, Craig Dowd, Ian Jones, Scott Robertson, Jason Spice, David Howell, Keith Lowen, Eric Rush.
MMIX
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Bowing out