 Ramba uchiverenga ndima ino - Johnson akasarudzwa kuti ave kaputeni weBritish Lions muna 1997yeSouth Africa. Nhabvu yeLions yakakunda mutambo wekutanga kuNewlands 2516 naNeil Jenkins achirova zvirango zvishanu uye Matt Dawson naAlan Tait vachiedza. Kunyangwe vakahwina mikana mitatu muTest yechipiri kuDurban, maSpringboks akatambura nekurohwa zvibodzwa uye vakatadza kuwana zvirango kana shanduko, nepo kuShumba Neil Jenkins zvakare akarova zvirango zvishanu kuti aenzanise zvibodzwa pa1515 Jeremy Guscott asati adonhedza chinangwa che1815 inotungamira Shumba. Shumba dzakabva dzarwisa zvine utsinye muSouth Africa, Lawrence Dallaglio achiedza kuponesa, kuti akunde mutambo uyu 1815 uye atore nhevedzano. Muedzo wechitatu paEllis Park wakaratidza kuti mutambo wakanga uri kure zvikuru nokuda kweboka reShumba uye vakarasikirwa ne35 kusvika ku16. Rwendo rwacho rwakaonekwa semutambo weLions weFran Cotton maneja, Ian McGeechan murairidzi mukuru, Jim Telfer mubatsiri wemurairidzi uye kunyanya Johnson semutungamiriri. 