JOHNSON THE MAN FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
THERE are likely to be a few eyes on Glasgow Warriors centre Sam Johnson this afternoon. His coaches at national and club level, Gregor Townsend and Dave Rennie respectively, have been fulsome in their praise.
But, such is Johnson’s potential, Townsend pitched the 25-year-old into his Autumn Test squad before he had played a competitive match this term for Rennie.
The Glasgow coach has, in turn, handed Johnson a starting place against Cardiff Blues in the Champions Cup.
No pressure then on the injury-free Johnson.
“I have been working hard during my recovery and it’s nice to have the trust of the coach to go straight back in. I’m looking forward to it,” said Johnson, who suffered a head injury in August during a pre-season warmup against Northampton Saints.
“It was obviously f rustrating having to sit out the first few weeks. I just tried to stay positive and look at it as an extended pre-season. But you’d much prefer it happened now than mid-season when there a lot of important games.
“Obviously, [I was] disappointed not to come back in last Sunday, so it’s a nice confidence boost. It’s unfortunate for Alex [Dunbar] to have picked up a head knock last week, but that’s the way sport works. One guy drops out and another guy gets an opportunity.”
For once it is Johnson who is able to benefit from the misfortunes of others. Last December, against Montpellier, Johnson was side-lined for 10 weeks after breaking his jaw. A case then of keeping his head down in getting back to fitness, and, during matches?
“Yeah, it would be nice to stay injury-free. It’s frustrating, but that’s just part of the sport. Now I need to get a bit of consistency into my game.”
Australian-born Johnson, who is qualified for Scotland through residency rules, could have played his part for Warriors last weekend in their opening European tie against Saracens, but sat it out. Like others in the Glasgow camp, that defeat was a disappointment, as was the somewhat unique interpretation of the laws by French referee Mathieu Raynal.
“Yeah, we felt certain decisions maybe didn’t go our way,” Johnson said. “But it’s a learning curve because different referees will make different calls. Each game can be different. It’s how you adapt.”
Whether the European stage offers something different in this contest remains to be seen. The players of Glasgow and Cardiff are well acquainted with one another and, despite their Welsh hosts producing an outstanding result in week one, Johnson believes the Warriors can play themselves back in to contention in the principality.
“We have a good record against Cardiff,” he said. “But they had a great victory last week against Lyon, so we know they’re going to come flying at us. They’ll have the home crowd behind them and will be really fired up. It’s up to us to match it – and then some,” says the one- time Queensland Reds back, who admit- ted he was surprised Cardiff won on the road last weekend.
“Surprised? Yeah, it did a little bit. The French fans demand to see their team win every game on home turf. So, it’s always a little bit of a surprise when anyone goes over there and wins. They’ll take confidence from it.”
Glasgow have travelled south knowing a win is imperative to maintaining an interest in Europe.
“We obviously don’t want to put pressure on ourselves. But, if you lose this game, then you’re probably out of Europe,” he conceded. “We know it’ll be difficult. We put on a good show against Saracens last week but, at the end of the day, we still lost. We obviously want to rectify that and turn it up another notch. We’ll go out there and look to rip into Cardiff. It’s important that we play positively.”
A decent performance against Cardiff could well see Johnson making another start there in a fortnight’s time when Scotland kick-off their Autumn Test campaign – and their preparations for the World Cup in Japan next year – against Wales.
Gregor Townsend would not have promoted Johnson if he didn’t see sufficient talent there. Dave Rennie is of a similar mind, suggesting the player would be good enough to make the current Wallabies side. Thankfully, Johnson feels at home here.
“It is a huge honour for me and my family. We’re really proud,” he said about his call-up. “It came into reckoning back in the summer. When I first came over a few years ago, it wasn’t even in my mind. I was just a young 22-year-old who was going off to play rugby on the other side of the world.
“But, in the summer, it obviously became more realistic and I became more aware of the fact that I could be called up. I have good people around me and I feel like I’m maturing in life, so I’m looking forward to it.”