Johnson switches focus

Kiwis star Shaun Johnson refused to drop his lip when he was dumped by the Kiwis but what’s on top of it will need to go in the coming weeks.

It’s been a turbulent 12 months for the polarising playmaker who made a shock departure from the Warriors, was criticised for his inconsistency at new club Cronulla and was then dropped from the Kiwis last week.

But the 29-year-old shrugged all that off in Christchurch on Saturday night with one of his best games in a Kiwis jersey to finish the season on a high and with another life highlight just around the corner.

Over the summer, Johnson will marry his fiancee – former Silver Fern Kayla Cullen – but said the wedding will not go ahead if he doesn’t lose the moustache he has been sporting for much of the season.

Johnson felt the Kiwis went to another level on Saturday, which followed a grinding 12-8 victory over the Lions at Eden Park seven days earlier.

His halves partner and Kiwis captain Benji Marshall labelled Johnson’s performance in Christchurch as one of his best in a Kiwis jersey.

‘‘I am really proud of Shaun. The best way you can judge a person is how they respond after adversity,’’ Marshall said.

‘‘I thought Shaun, the way he handled getting dropped – not only that – but the way he came back and performed this week it showed a lot of class.

‘‘It was up there with one of Shaun’s best performances for New Zealand in terms of controlling the game and building pressure and leading,’’ Marshall said.

Johnson said: ‘‘We’ve copped a lot of s..., I’ve copped a lot of s..., and rightly so at times, but moments like these where we can sit down and enjoy a beer together with one and other, that’s what you look forward too.

‘‘It’s more special when it’s on home soil . . . we don’t get to play many tests here and when you do you have to make the most of them.

‘‘As you get older you have more of an appreciation for moments like these because you know they don’t always happen, you’ve got to work hard to earn these moments.’’

Johnson said the Kiwis first

Shaun Johnson above, with fiancee Kayla Cullen

series win over Great Britain since 1998 was a special night in his career but it wasn’t about him or any other player.

‘‘Across the board, it was a real team performance. Defensively, on our line in that second half – yeah, it’s pretty special so I don’t really want to make it about me or what I’ve been through,’’ Johnson said.

He echoed the feelings of Kiwis coach Michael Maguire, who earlier in the week praised Johnson for the positive way he reacted to being dropped, that every player in the Kiwis 17 stepped up and did what was expected of them.

Despite looking forward to a break, Johnson said he was already looking forward to 2020 with the Cronulla Sharks and the Kiwis.

‘‘I’ve got my wedding coming up, I get married this off-season so I’ve got all that to look forward to and then back to pre-season and really look to have a rip in next year.

‘‘It’s probably the first time in a long time that, even though we’ve just played, I’m excited to get back into it,’’ Johnson said.

Despite Johnson being one of the best players on the field on Saturday night, he only earned a recall – after being dropped for last week’s win over the Lions following a poor showing in the 26-4 loss to Australia last month – because Kieran Foran suffered a shoulder injury.

‘‘It’s obviously been a bit of a journey the last couple of weeks but I’m just happy we won to be

‘‘I get married this off-season so I’ve got all that to look forward to.’’

Shaun Johnson celebrates his try for the Kiwis in their win over Great Britain.

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honest,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘I had a good chance to look at myself, was nice and honest with myself and just worked hard.

‘‘I’m happy I could contribute to us winning and in terms of my performance I just did what I think everyone expected of me and probably what I didn’t do against Australia,’’ Johnson said.

Maguire praised the efforts of