Bill Johnston (born 17 February 1997) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for English

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

club

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He plays as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

and previously represented his native province of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, their provincial rivals

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, English club

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

and, in the amateur All-Ireland League,

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

club Garryowen.

Early life

Born in

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

, Johnston first began playing rugby aged 6 with

. He won the 2015

Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup The Munster Schools Senior Cup or Munster Senior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU. The inaugural Munster Schools Senior Cup took place in 1909 and, since then, Cork city's two ...

with

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Sen ...

, leading the side from fly-half in their 23–13 victory against Ardscoil Rís.

Professional career

Munster

Johnston joined the Munster Academy in November 2015. On 13 November 2015, Johnston made his debut for

Munster A Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Iris ...

, starting for the side alongside his brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, in their 27–25 defeat at the hands of London Scottish in their 2015–16 British and Irish Cup pool opener and scoring a penalty on his debut. He scored 8 points, all from conversions, in Munster A's 28–8 victory against Ospreys Premiership Select in Round 3 of the tournament on 11 December 2015. 9 days later, Johnston scored 16 points off the tee as Munster A again beat Ospreys Premiership Select, this time 46–26 away from home in

Brewery Field Dunraven Brewery Field ( cy, Cae'r Bragdy Dunraven) is an 8,000 (1,100 seated) capacity sports stadium in Bridgend, Wales. It is the home ground of the rugby union team Bridgend Ravens. Bridgend Athletic RFC often use the ground for their ho ...

. On 10 December 2016, Johnston scored 10 points, all from the tee, as Munster A beat

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

35–24 away from home in Clifton Lane in Round 3 of the 2016–17 British and Irish Cup. In December 2016, Johnston was ruled out for 8–12 weeks with an ankle injury. Johnston made his competitive senior debut for Munster when he came off the bench as a replacement for

Tyler Bleyendaal Tyler Bleyendaal (born 31 May 1990) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and current coach. Primarily a fly-half who could also play at centre, Bleyendaal played for Canterbury, and Munster during his playing career, before he was forced ...

in the 50–14 away win against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

in a

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the ...

fixture in the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi,

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

on 25 March 2017. Johnston had been a late call-up to the Munster bench after his older brother,

, replaced the injured

Andrew Conway Andrew Joseph Conway (born 11 July 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. He plays primarily as a wing, but can also play as a fullback. Blackrock College While atte ...

in the starting line-up. On 31 March 2017, Johnston started for Munster A in their 2016–17 British and Irish Cup semi-final against

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

. Munster A won the game 25–9, but Johnston went off injured during the first half and it was later confirmed that he had fractured his

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

. Johnston was promoted to the senior Munster squad ahead of the 2017–18 season. He signed a two-year contract with Munster in April 2018. In his first

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

start for Munster, made during round 8 of the 2018–19 season against South African side

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

on 4 November 2018, Johnston scored two conversions and one penalty in his sides 30–26 away victory.

Ulster

Johnston joined Munster's provincial rivals

ahead of the 2019–20 season. He made his debut for the province in their 63–26 defeat away to South African side

in round 2 of the

2019–20 Pro14 The 2019–20 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness Brewery, Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It was the third season to be ...

on 5 October 2019.

Ealing

Johnston joined English

club

on loan in April 2021, where his older brother

is also a player. The move was made permanent ahead of the 2021–22 season.

Richmond

Johnston moved south to join another London-based

club,

, ahead of the 2022–23 season.

Ireland

Johnston was selected in the Ireland U20 squad for the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in England by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations took part in the tournamen ...

when it was announced in May 2016. This was his first call-up to the Under-20s team, having previously represented Ireland at U18 level. On 7 June 2016, Johnston made his debut for the side when he started in Ireland's opening pool fixture against Wales U20, scoring 11 points in his sides comeback 26–25 victory, having one point trailed the Welsh by 17 points. He again started on 11 June, this time against New Zealand U20. He contributed 10 points in Ireland's historic 33–24 win against New Zealand U20, the sides first against their U20 rivals, but had to leave the field with a dislocated shoulder late in the first-half. Subsequently, the injury ruled him out for the rest of the tournament. On 24 February 2017, Johnston made his first appearance in the

2017 Six Nations Under 20 Championship The 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, was the 10th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Wales were the defending champions. The competition was won by England, who complet ...

, replacing the injured Jonny McPhillips and starting against France U20. Johnston scored 12 points in his sides 27–22 victory in

Donnybrook Stadium Donnybrook Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as Energia Park, is a rugby union stadium in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland. The stadium has a capacity of 6,000, including a 2,500 seat covered grandstand which was completed in early 2008. Hi ...

. On 11 March 2017, Johnston again started for Ireland U20, this time against Wales U20 at the

Eirias Stadium Eirias Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Eirias), known for sponsorship reasons as Stadiwm CSM, is a multi-purpose stadium that is part of the outdoor complex of the Eirias Events Centre in Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay, Wales. It is home to the Principality Premi ...

. Johnston scored 12 points off the tee for his side, including 3 conversions, but it was not enough to prevent Wales winning 41–27. On 17 March 2017, Johnston started and scored 5 points from the tee in Ireland U20's 14–10 defeat against

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s), represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in En ...

References

External links

Ulster ProfileMunster ProfilePro14 ProfileU20 Six Nations Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Bill Living people 1997 births Rugby union players from County Tipperary People educated at Rockwell College Irish rugby union players Garryowen Football Club players Munster Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club players Richmond F.C. players Irish expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union fly-halves Sportspeople from Clonmel