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Crusaders star sent home address to troll who threatened him
By Ian Cameron
Former Wales rugby international and current Crusaders star Johnny McNicholl confronted an abusive fan who threatened to "knock him out" by calling his bluff on social media.
The New Zealand-born back three player received social media messages criticizing his eligibility to represent Wales - culminating in one threatening violence.
In response - the 33-year-old who is now back playing for the struggling franchise in Super Rugby Pacific - shared his home address with the individual and invited him to follow through with the threat.
McNicholl moved to Llanelli in 2016 and became eligible to play for Wales through residency, earning his first of 10 caps in 2020. He found himself having to defend his right to play for Wales, ultimately taking action against one abusive troll online.
"I got a little bit of banter from the boys," McNicholl told the What a Lad podcast podcast. 'But that still exists to this day. But the brutal side of it was more so the fans, and the media. I did feel like a Welsh rugby player at that time of my career, I wasn’t Welsh but I felt like a Welsh player.
"I did cop a bit of heat, I had a few bad direct messages. The worst one was ‘Mate, if I see you in the street I’m going to knock you out because you’re not Welsh. He was directly messaging me saying that. I messaged him back saying ‘Flat 3, Aberdare House. Come knock on my door.’
"I’ve not got a good fight in me at all, but I was fuming. I was like, this guy is pissing me off. I went to sleep and he obviously didn’t come knock on my door. I woke up and blocked him and that was the first and last time I responded to anyone on social media."
McNicholl began his rugby career in New Zealand, playing as a versatile back for Canterbury in the ITM Cup. He also represented the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
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Go to commentsI’d take the Sharks, Stormers, Bulls, and Lions back in a second. Super Rugby Pacific is improving and the conference system sucked ass and never should have been implemented but if you think the quality of rugby is better without the South African franchises, you are kidding yourself.
And there is nothing authentic about Moana Pacifika, it is a sixth NZ franchise. Almost all of the players are NZ citizens, born and raised in NZ, were developed by NZ secondary schools and play in the NPC. The players just happen to be of Pacific heritage (just as there are a very large number of Pacific heritage players on the original five NZ franchises). Moana Pacifika is a marketing ploy for Auckland’s second SRP franchise.
Fiji Drua are legitimately a Pacific island team. Most players are born in Fiji, the players live and train in Fiji, and they play their home matches in Fiji.
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