From ‘Princess’ to ‘SJ’

but Taco, the little one, he’d just cruise with you, he’s always happy, so I’d take Taco.’’

While there was nothing out of the ordinary with his cheat meal, Johnson shared a ‘‘game-changing’’ hack for those relishing the re-opening of takeaway restaurants now the country has moved into Covid-19 alert level three.

‘‘I go a Big Mac meal, get an extra Mcchicken burger and I get the burgers on steamed buns which is crucial for anyone that orders Macca’s – it’s a game-changer,’’ he said. ‘‘Fileto-fish are on steamed buns and you just look at them and they’re so much softer and more moist.’’

Johnson finished the interview by giving his preference to a series of quick-fire Kiwirelated questions, such as Wellington or Wanaka (Wellington), Jelly Tip or hokey pokey ice-cream (hokey pokey) and Sir Richard Hadlee or Kane Williamson (Williamson).

But it was a league question he agonised over most after being asked to chose between childhood idols Stacey Jones and Benji Marshall.

Johnson initially couldn’t split the two New Zealand legends but eventually sided with his international teammate and incumbent Kiwis captain Marshall.

‘‘Stacey was who a lot of us looked up to to start with and he’s the man,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘But what Benji did for all of us around my age was he made us all believe that it was possible to play in the NRL.’’

Ex-all Blacks coach Laurie Mains recently voiced his concerns about the future of New Zealand’s rugby provincial unions under Covid-19. While the immediate future of Super Rugby has received most of the attention from the media, understandable given the competition was forced to stop in March, Mains emphasised it was vital the provinces were not overlooked.

When Mains spoke to Stuff recently he was worried about all levels of the game, starting with the clubs. It was no secret he believed NZ Rugby hadn’t been doing enough for club footy in recent times.

Those small establishments still have to keep paying the bills. Some have staff to remunerate, rates need to be paid and grounds have to be maintained.

With no people attending or playing games there’s no money flowing over the bars, and it’s near impossible to hold fundraisers. The clubs, like many businesses, are in survival mode.

But Mains was most apprehensive about the issues confronting the provincial unions, and how they will survive this crisis: “The real financial burden starts at provincial level,’’ he said.