Jack Johnson quizzes Josh Charnley

The seven-year-old, who is the inspiration behind the Joining Jack charity, showed he is very much a journalist in the making, unveiling an exclusive about Sam Tomkins being attacked by a tiger!

Jack spent the day in our office, overseeing the newspaper and meeting our reporters before having a say on what goes in the paper.

Below is an extract from his interview with Josh...

Hi Josh, so who was your favourite ever rugby player?

It has to be Jason Robinson, he was a brilliant player and one of my idols.

What about your favourite player now?

Liam Farrell.

Who’s the craziest player?

Everyone is quite different. You’ve got Anthony Gelling who is daft all the time. He charged down that penalty against Brisbane! Then you’ve got Dan Sarginson as well.

What was the favourite ever try you’ve scored?

It was probably the one in the 2011 Challenge Cup final. That was amazing, I’d snapped my finger in the first minute and everyone was telling me to come off but I didn’t want to.

So how did you score with a snapped finger?

I just caught the ball and put it down, it didn’t hurt that much. Part of my finger went around the back of it.

I suppose that’s better than it being chopped off! Ok, so who was the first streaker you’ve seen?

I can’t remember the first. There was a good one at the Grand Final. He must have had a bet off his mates to do it and he did it. There were quite a few people chasing him!

Were you laughing your head off or were you annoyed?

I was laughing my head off at it!

What’s the best cup in the world that you’ve won?

I’d say the Challenge Cup.

Any more?

The Super League trophy.

Any more?

The League Leaders’ trophy.

Any more?

No, I think that’s it. Oh, I won the top try scorer award one season too.

What’s your other favourite sport?

Probably fishing, you like it as well don’t you? I go up at Curleys in Horwich, I do a lot of fly fishing. I’ll have to take you one day. Fly fishing is when you use something made out of feathers or string instead of live bait.

Have you ever held a tiger?

I’ve stroked one in South Africa.

Did it bite you?

No but it bit Sam Tomkins! (pictured) it gripped hold of Sam’s arm and wouldn’t let go, I got a great picture of it. That was when we went to South Africa for a training camp. We went into one of the pits and Sam was stroking it and it just turned on him, his face was hilarious.

How did Sam not cry?

It only nipped him so he was ok. They’re only little because they’re only a few months old.

Have you ever stroked a gorilla?

No.

What about a bull?

I actually have a bull in the field at the farm.

You’ve never showed that to me! Can you take me to it? Will it chase us?

Of course I can. It won’t chase us though because it’s lazy. We’ll go and have a look at it. You and James have been up a few times now haven’t you and had a look at all the animals.

What’s your favourite moment helping Joining Jack?

It was probably shaving my hair. Sam Tomkins put a tweet out saying that if Joining Jack got 20,000 followers I would cut my hair off and they did. I went bald for a little bit for you!

How does shaving your hair help?

It raises awareness for Joining Jack because people don’t like my hairstyle!

Are you glad that Sam Tomkins is back at Wigan?

Yes, I’ve really missed him. I’ve missed having him around at the training ground and out on the pitch. He’s one of those people you can rely on and you know he can do something special when he’s on the ball.

That’s all my questions, thank you Josh!