Bill Johnston seizes opportunity with Ulster in eye-catching style

The Tipperary No10 made his first start for Ulster since February and scored 17 points including his first try for the province.

“I just saw the ball on the ground and thought this is my chance, thank God he (Alby Mathewson) didn’t do the show and go and go himself but he is a smart cookie, he is cute enough to make the right play at the right time and I won’t get an easier try than that,” said Johnston.

“The maul was pretty dominant throughout so credit to those lads and I was the beneficiary.”

Johnston had also played with Mathewson at Munster before heading to Kingspan Stadium.

“We overlapped, a couple of my last starts in my last season with Munster were playing with Alby so we definitely have that connection,” he said.

“That is built on a couple of seasons, you saw how sharp he is, how well prepared he is and he makes my job really easy - he has good ears and eyes and has the skill set to match it as well.”

“Having that connection that was built a couple of seasons ago was really helpful and any time I play with him it’s generally a really positive experience because of how well he drives the lads in front of him.”

Patience has been the key for Johnston at Ulster having he only made five starts in his first season in Belfast and he knows with the likes of Billy Burns and Ian Madigan in the squad, any chance he does get he has to seize it.

“The lads have been going really well, Billy with Ireland has deserved his opportunity, Ian has come in and he has made a really positive impact on the squad and no one can deny that whatsoever,” said Johnston.

“So that puts a certain pressure on me to push the initiative this week. In my own criticism maybe when I got these chances before I’ve been happy to step back and let other lads steer the ship or take the opportunities.

“I’m trying to take as many opportunities as I can: number one, play hard for the team and number two, just play hard for the team and show what it means to play for Ulster.

“It is a real honour for me and the lads are the most amazing bunch, I just want to play as hard as I can when I get that chance.”

With Johnny Sexton ruled out of Ireland’s Autumn Nations Cup clash with England on Saturday, Burns is in line to start at Twickenham and Johnston is backing his Ulster team-mate to excel on the international stage.

“Overall he’s a really good lad and it’s easy to get behind him, everyone is a million per-cent behind him; myself, Mads and Mikey included in that overall.

“You see how hard he works, how he’s integrated into the squad.

“He’s a real leader in our group and he’s by far more than capable of playing international rugby, he’s shown that over the last couple of seasons that he is that calibre of player.

“For me personally, I’m thrilled that he got that opportunity, he’ll have been disappointed for that to finish early but I think in terms of behind Johnny, he’s right there and he’s that kind of player that can break up a game if Johnny’s not there,” added Johnston. “I’m thrilled for him.”

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