JOHNSTON’SBACK UP HIS URGENTLIST OF ACHIEVEMENTSCALL TO ACTION

NICK Johnston’s achievements as a strength and conditioning coach who was ahead of the game speaks volumes for his ability to make a difference.

His expertise helped Sale Sharks to peak under Philippe Saint-Andre, culminating in the club winning their only Premiership title in 2006. Having helped the likes of Jason Robinson, Mark Cueto, Charlie Hodgson, and Sebastien Chabal to reach the summit, Johnston moved on to have a similar impact at

Northampton.

Johnston, 49, says: “I’d like to think I’ve been cutting-edge, for instance, as the first rugby performance director in Europe to bring in GPS testing.”

In his six-year spell as the Saints performance director, working alongside head coach Jim Mallinder, the club enjoyed a spell of unprecedented success, which coincided with the rise to international prominence of Courtney Lawes, Dylan Hartley, Ben Foden and Chris Ashton.

Johnston was an important component in Northampton first securing promotion from the Championship (2008), and then going on to win the European Challenge Cup (2009) and the AngloWelsh Cup (2010). The upward trajectory continued when they reached the European Cup final (2011) – losing narrowly to Leinster in a classic – and their first Premiership final followed (2013), before they won a landmark first Premiership title the following year, a few months after Johnston had stepped down. By that time Northampton were one of the best conditioned sides in Europe, with Mallinder paying Johnston this tribute: “We are in a much stronger position than we were five years ago, and a lot of that is down to Nick.”

Johnston’s next stop was Worcester, who managed to win promotion back to the Premiership a year after he arrived at Sixways. During his three years at the club he was involved in revamping the Worcester academy, which has since borne fruit with the promotion to the England squad of Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence.

After that Johnson decided to take a one-year break from the game, but there was no standing still. Having already set up his own company, ‘Athletic Thinking’, which tailors his high performance knowledge to workshops for business, schools and individuals, he joined Sandaire Wealth Management in order to learn more about finance.

It means that when Johnston joined Coventry as managing director two years ago he did so with a strategic development brief from owner Jon Sharp to drive the club forward in terms of its infrastructure. This involved the delivery of a new stadium and pitch, the development of a hotel, residential and retail complex at the Butts Park Arena – which, despite the pandemic, is underway – as well as to strive for promotion.