HIGH ACHIEVERS: Rugby is Jay Johnston’s passion, but he calls it his ‘disease’

By Martin Cleary

Jay Johnston has a disease.

But he’s not worried about it, is freely willing to talk about it and actually embraces it with all his friends.

“Rugby is a disease,” the McNab-Braeside, ON., resident openly admits. “It used to be all amateur and everyone from brain surgeons to plumbers played it. It’s a boys’ club.”

Johnston contracted his sporting disease when he was 10 years old, while attending a private school in Montreal.

The school’s sports teacher wanted to go against the grain and introduce rugby to the boys. But he had to disguise it and asked one of the players to bring a soccer ball to give the impression they were working on footy skills. The boys were asked not to mention he was teaching them rugby. That way the headmaster wouldn’t find out. But the headmaster did, when one of the boys suffered a broken arm and “the cat was let out of the bag.”

The rugby seed was planted for Johnston and it has been an integral part of his life for the past 65 years at the local, provincial, national and international levels.

Whether he was a player, a referee and a member of a board of directors in a financial capacity or just a fan in the grandstand, Johnston has had a fulfilling, but occasionally crusty relationship with rugby.

When the founder of Fermentrics Technologies and the former CEO of Ritchie Feed and Seed for 30 years accepted a role in rugby, he tried his best to take that ball and ground it behind the goal line.

As a result of his dedication to and success in his unpaid, amateur roles, Rugby Canada and Rugby Ontario have recognized his work with special honours over the past two seasons.

Johnston, 75, is thankful, but also embarrassed by being the centre of attention.

Rugby Canada honoured three supporters this year with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Johnston’s ceremony was held on the TD Place Stadium field as part of the Canada-Romania men’s rugby match in July.

“I thought it would be in a board room somewhere. I didn’t think it would be in the middle of Lansdowne Park,” Johnston offered as he recalled the special, but uncomfortable moment.

Entering the Rugby Ontario Hall of Fame was equally warming and embarrassing as he listened to the nominator detailing the highlights of his rugby career.

“I had forgotten half of that information,” he added.

Johnston has been a significant contributor for many decades in many roles because he thoroughly enjoys being part of a special fraternity of people.

After attending McGill University and playing for the men’s rugby team, Johnston moved to Ottawa and played in the second row for two different teams over four decades – Ottawa Ospreys Rugby Club (formerly Ottawa Indians) from 1974 to 1995 and the Ottawa Senators Rugby Club from 1995 to 2002.

“It’s a disease. It’s an unbelievable fraternity. There are hilarious moments and there are serious moments,” he said with enthusiasm.

When he realized he didn’t measure up to the standards of being a national team member, he turned to refereeing the game.

He had a great time keeping the players in line in the rough and tumble game, but had one of his most eye-opening experiences officiating an Ottawa high school girls’ rugby final.

“I learned more swear words in the first 10 minutes” than expected, recalled Johnston, who continually reprimanded one player for her vulgar language until he eventually gave her a red dismissal card.

He served as an active member of the Eastern Ontario Rugby Referees Society from 1991-96.

For the next five-year period, he sat on the Twin Elm Rugby Park board of directors as it experienced a financial crisis. He did his part to help the board work with the City of Ottawa to keep afloat the multi-field centrepiece for local rugby.

For 20 years, Johnston was a member of the Rugby Canada board of directors. When he saw the financial books of the national sport governing body for the first time, he was shocked. He helped rescue Rugby Canada by securing a line of credit from a bank and staging international matches, which quickly earned him the title of treasurer for many years.

He was insulted Canada’s top women players had to pay to play on the national 15s team and fought to remove that model. When it came to staging international matches, he was a vital member of the organizing committee, which often made money from the games, but occasionally lost thousands of dollars.

Johnston was part of Rugby Canada playing host to the first-ever test matches at professional stadiums like BMO Field in Toronto and Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. He also helped to put Canada on the World Sevens Series tournament map.

The Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, B.C., was constructed partially through his ability to secure funding and raise capital. He also made personal financial contributions to help build stronger infrastructure for rugby in Ontario and Canada.

“His financial acumen, business management skills, clear-headedness, integrity and unwavering determination among other things has seen rugby prosper and grow across Canada,” said Rugby Canada’s July press release announcing Johnston’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Johnston was involved in seeing Canada play the Maori All Blacks from New Zealand in Ottawa, Kingston and across Canada.

There also were other international games, including one against Wales in Toronto, which made an unexpected $300,000 profit.

“There was a big European match that was canceled and BBC TV decided to show our game (against Wales),” Johnston said, adding it was an instant money maker.

The first men’s World Sevens Series tournament in Vancouver turned a $1.5-million profit, according to Johnston, but the 2006 women’s World Cup had a significant deficit.

“It’s a ride I wouldn’t miss for the world,” Johnston said about his life in rugby. “You never think. It’s part of my life. You just did it. Those are your friends. It’s really cool.

“It’s great to watch little kids start and learn the game. Rugby teaches you discipline and respect. Yes, it’s violent. You learn to play as a team. At the end, you shake hands and have a beer after.”

When he was a Rugby Canada board member, he was allowed to mingle with the special guests at international games. During a match in Dublin, he saw Princess Anne of Edinburgh and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence as well as the head of Lloyds of London.

“Everyone talked about the rugby match,” he said enthusiastically. “Everyone was an expert. They left their egos at the door. It was fun being around everyone. Your moniker didn’t matter. Rugby is the get leveler. Everyone is treated equally.”

For now, Johnston doesn’t have a direct attachment to rugby, but he remains busy with the day-to-day research business at Fermentrics Technologies, which is north of Arnprior.

“I’ll get back into it sometime,” he vowed. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s a great group to work with.

“I’ll go to games and sit there quietly. People may wonder ‘who is that old guy sitting by himself?’”

Oh, he’s just a Rugby Canada Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a Rugby Ontario Hall of Famer, that’s all.