Johnson comes from a sporting family. His great-grandfather was a wrestler. His younger brother Will is also a former back row forward for Leicester.
He briefly played American football for the Leicester Panthers as a tight end or defensive end.
Johnson was selected for the New Zealand under-21 side which went on a tour of Australia playing a side that included another of the all-time great lock forwards, John Eales.
His first job wa working in a nuts and bolts factory as a schoolboy
