After returning from the victorious 1997 Lions tour Johnson was formally appointed Leicester's captain. The season started with the Heineken Cup and Leicester secured a quarter final play off after finishing second in their group containing Leinster, Toulouse and Amatori Milan. Tigers beat the Italian side twice but lost away to Leinster and at home to Toulouse. In the quarter final play off Leicester beat Glasgow 90-19 but lost in the quarter final proper away to Pau. Domestically Tigers were a mixed bag, winning 12, losing 8 and drawing 2 games to finish 4th in the Allied Dunbar Premiership. In February 1998 Johnson's predecessor as Leicester captain Dean Richards was appointed as Director of Rugby following Bob Dwyer's sacking.