William "Massa" Johnston was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league international.
12 Facts About Massa Johnston
1.
2.
The "W Massa Johnston" playing in 1897 was noted to be an older veteran player and was in fact his cousin.
3.
Massa Johnston made his senior debut for Alhambra on 31 May 1902 against Southern and played well with the link to his older cousin noted in an article in the Otago Witness.
4.
Massa Johnston made his full representative debut for Otago in 1903 and represented Otago again in 1904, playing in six matches in total.
5.
Massa Johnston played for the South Island in 1904,1905 and 1907.
6.
Massa Johnston was first chosen for the All Blacks as part of their first tour of Great Britain.
7.
However, Massa Johnston was sickly on the tour and played in only thirteen matches, missing all of the test matches.
8.
Massa Johnston returned to the All Blacks for their 1907 tests against Australia, playing in all three matches in the series.
9.
At the time of the tour Massa Johnston was at the peak of his career and had earned respect as a forward with a clean style of play.
10.
Massa Johnston had helped select the side and was part of the Management committee while on tour.
11.
Massa Johnston was an integral part of the forward pack and played in all eight test matches.
12.
Massa Johnston scored tries in the second and third tests against the Northern Union but was then wrongly sent off in the first test match against Australia.