John played as a flanker with London Irish, Manchester, Liverpool St.Helen’s, Connacht, Ireland and the Lions He toured South Africa (1980) and New Zealand (1983) with the British and Irish Lions, playing in six of the eight tests on those tours. He was capped 26 times for Ireland.
He was coach to the Irish Exiles Senior Provincial team from 1991 to 1995 and was President of the Irish Exiles from 2006 – 2010.
A Lions selector in 2001, John is an IRFU representative to World Rugby and Rugby Europe.