My Life in Rugby: Tom Johnson – former England and Exeter flanker
To get the opportunity to tour South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand was the stuff of boyhood dreams. I won eight caps in all, and my shirt and first cap are up on the wall at home; they mean so much to me.
I didn’t come through the conventional academy system. I learned how to play rugby while in my late teens by putting my head where it hurts in senior men’s rugby at Chinnor and Reading. Admittedly, the players at that level weren’t the best athletes in the world, but you were still having to tackle 18st men and I think that was brilliant for my development.
I scored a load of tries at No.8 for Reading one season and Coventry offered me a trial after that. I understand a referee recommended me to them… I still don’t know who that was but I’ve got a lot to thank him for!
I had two enjoyable years at Coventry, a club with a great history, although the latter part was soured by the false promises from the owner. We held the Chiefs to a 13-13 draw in their first game at Sandy Park, not the start they intended, and it wasn’t long before Rob Baxter expressed an interest in me. I’d been blown away by the facilities they had so had no hesitation in signing once the opportunity arose.
One day can easily roll into the next as you’re focusing on the job in hand, but now that I look back on my 10 years at Exeter, it is quite remarkable how much the club has moved on. We went from travelling to places like Sedgley Park to taking on some of the big names in Europe.
One thing that was consistent, no matter who came and went, was the culture of the club. Things are a bit more serious now, because there is more expectation, but the players still try and have as much fun as they can. Rob encourages that but when he says no to a night out or whatever, you know it is for a good reason.
I was one of the so-called ‘Originals’ – the band of players who won the Championship and became part of the core squad at Exeter. Now I’ve retired I think there’s only two left: Phil Dollman and Gareth Steenson.
We tried to break that first Premiership season down into bite-sized chunks, setting ourselves mini goals over a six-game period. If we got the number of points we’d hoped for, we’d reward ourselves with a go-karting day out and things like that. Before Christmas, we’d totted up more points than we thought we would have and the pressure started to ease.
Our defence wasn’t great but we went out with the mentality that if you score four tries we’ll score five.
While winning the Championship, the LV= Cup, competing at the top level in Europe and signing off with a Premiership winner’s medal were proud achievements, it was the experiences I had as a Chiefs player, and the camaraderie we had as a group, that I look back on most fondly.
It’s nice not to be a hobbling wreck at the end of my career which is what I thought I might be at one stage. The neck injury I had in 2014 was a bit of a wake-up call in that respect.
I was having horrific pins and needles and waking up in the middle of the night in pain. Luckily the surgery went well and sorted me out. I’ve got a young family and it’s great to be able to spend quality time with them while also building up my business as a personal trainer.
*As told to Jon Newcombe
