Ashley Johnson

thumb|Ashley Johnson Ashley Johnson (born 16 May 1986) is a professional rugby union player-coach who plays and coaches for Birmingham Moseley in National League 1. He previously played for Free State Cheetahs at provincial level, Cheetahs in Super Rugby, Wasps in Premiership Rugby and the Springboks. His usual position is hooker, having converted from backrow whilst with Wasps. His first game for the Springboks was in 2009 on tour to the British Isles, but he only earned his first Test Caps in the 2011 Tri-Nations series. Quotes I was thinking what am I going to tell the kids? What’s going to happen to my family? Obviously you know it is a two-year ban but I didn’t know what I had done wrong and I was questioning everything At that point, I didn’t know what was in my body. I could have got it from anywhere. Anything that goes into your body is obviously your responsibility but I did not know where it came from or what was in my body. That was my worst fear It is always my responsibility in terms of what goes into my body, but as rugby player life happens,It goes quick. I have a family and kids to look after and sometimes you can take it for granted how easily mistakes can happen. I still take responsibility for what happened. You need to be diligent in everything you do. The worst part was probably when my kid came home after being bullied at school by kids saying your dad is a drugs cheat, That hit me the hardest in terms of how he was going to deal with it, but at the same time we didn’t want to remove him from the school. As much as it was a character test for me, it was a character test for him and hopefully it will make him stronger so in the future he can deal with challenging situations so much better. He got through it by holding his head up high and believing in me and knowing who I am. The guys at Wasps tried to keep me positive, They made sure that I was never alone. Even when there were times when I didn’t really want to go out, the boys dragged me out of the house to go for coffee and keep sane. That was a massive help. I think I gave away a penalty from the kick-off, I was so eager just to smash someone,” Just pulling on the jersey and being in the back on the field was awesome. I had been at the club a long time and the embarrassment that I had caused the club and myself was tough, but the Wasps family was like a rock behind me. In hindsight now you see loads of gaps in my lifestyle where I could have been more diligent and more careful, If it helps other guys realise how easily it can happen then I will do it. You can do all these education programmes but as soon as it happens to a teammate or opponent it becomes so much more real. Ashley Johnson exclusive interview: The worst bit was kids saying to my son 'your dad is a drugs cheat, The Telegraph (October 25, 2018) External links Category:Rugby union players from South Africa Category:Living people Category:1986 births