The backrow man's tendency to drift out of matches has limited his opportunities in a Scotland jersey - all the more frustrating as he's among the most naturally gifted players of his generation.
But a fine start to the season with Glasgow has propelled Johnnie into the Scotland XV selected by new coach Andy Robinson for Saturday's match with Fiji.
Johnnie told the Times: “I know I had to come in and work hard to force my way into the team. In seasons past I have been accused of being inconsistent, so it has been nice to string together a few positive performances in the early part of the season.
“Last year I was not as good as I should have been and it was disappointing. I put that to one side, looked at myself over the summer and tried to rectify things and change the way I play.
“The good things about playing now is that there is so much help there within the coaching set-up. There is not a lot of soul-searching, more thinking how you can do things differently, how you can get involved more. If you tinker with things and change them, you find it works for you.
"The thing I find hardest is to stay in the game as much as possible, always be ball-carrying, always be tackling, especially if you are not in a recognised receiver position, 10, 12 or 13.
“It is a challenge every game to go out and get the ball off these guys to be in the right position to receive the ball. This is my fifth season with Glasgow, I have been happy with the way things have been going and need to maintain what I have been trying to do.”