SEXTON CAN GO ON TILL HE’S 40
Lancaster compares meticulous Blues out-half to Gridiron legend Tom Brady
THERE is a relationship at the heart of the Leinster revival. Its importance is enormous, as critical to the success of the team as the fitness of any star.
Stuart Lancaster is one half of it — and Leo Cullen is not the other.
The Lancaster-Cullen union is certainly important, but so too is the one between the former England head coach and Johnny Sexton.
Sexton sent Lancaster a text message before his appointment at Leinster, offering any assistance he could in helping agree a deal.
This was after the Ireland out half had sourced the opinions of Andy and Owen Farrell, with both men effusive in their praise of Lancaster (right).
And it was Sexton who gave the first public indication of Lancaster’s impact in Dublin, speaking after a big European Cup win against Montpellier in January 2017 and declaring that ‘Stuart has had a great influence on us and the whole organisation and it is a great place to be again’.
The coach repaid that compliment yesterday. Lancaster is an NFL enthusiast, and he yesterday compared Sexton to Tom Brady, the quarter-back who led the New England Patriots to dominance of the sport over the past decade.
Brady is 41 in August, but expected to play another season with the Patriots. And last week, Sexton said on radio that he intends to play on at least until the next Lions tour, in 2021.
He will be almost 36 by then, but said Lancaster had introduced him to Brady, and he was now targeting continuing until 40, too. That comment didn’t seem entirely in jest.
‘I don’t mind that but I think his wife is a bit upset with me because I can see the comparison,’ said Lancaster in response.
‘Honestly, I can. When I started watching the Patriots and understanding how they went to five Super Bowls, and Tom Brady is the quarterback who has done it, I could see it.
‘I kept finding clips and sending them to Johnny.’
Longevity is not the only, or even the main point of comparison. Brady is renowned for the meticulousness of his preparation, and also his insistence on tolerating only the highest standards.
That fits with the cranky Sexton players speak of from training and matches, the man whose pursuit of high standards admits no qualifications.
‘It is obvious what he brings on the field but it is the bit behind the scenes that people don’t see, that is the key to Johnny,’ said Lancaster. ‘I have loved coaching with him. His knowledge of the game and his ability to use that knowledge in the heat of battle in the game is incredible. ‘His ability to keep calm and composed, to think things and solve the puzzle while in the game; he sees things like very few players I have coached. ‘Say there is a gap: an international player would see the gap; a world-class player like Johnny would be through the gap. ‘He is that good, in my opinion. I think he would agree as well that he has been coached by some very good coaches along the way and because of his meticulous approach to preparation, he has absorbed all those lessons from all those great coaches. ‘That has made him the complete player. Then you layer on his commitment to Leinster, his desire to win things, his competitiveness and his desire to keep playing until he is 40,’ he said, finishing with a smile.
Sexton’s plans for Saturday’s European Cup final will be spiced by his history with Racing 92. Two unfulfilled years at the club are the solitary dip in an outstanding career.
Lancaster is familiar with setbacks, too, but his were far more public and prolonged than a brief, unwise playing switch made by Sexton.
His failure with England at the last World Cup was still defining him in his home country until this season.
That is changing; a number of English journalists attended yesterday’s pre-final press briefing at Leinster’s base in UCD.
He is succeeding again, but this is a man who treats ‘those two imposters’, triumph and disaster, with wariness.
‘The perception is that I lost a lot of games in charge of England but actually we won a lot as well,’ he said.
‘We won some big ones, the All Blacks et cetera, et cetera. I don’t think there is any coach that has
Johnny can see things like very few players that I have coached’
gone unbeaten and I don’t think you have to go through that, necessarily.
‘But it certainly makes you more determined when you have been through it and come out the other side. And not just do it for yourself, to be honest: you want to do it for Leinster first and foremost, the players and the supporters.
‘But from a personal point of view you want to do it for your family, because they’re the ones who have supported you through all the tough times. My wife and kids and family and friends, that’s the motivation for me.’
Leinster have been untouchable in Europe this season. They have endured two uncharacteristic slips in the league of late, losing at home to Treviso and getting hammered in Galway by Connacht.
But that won’t temper expectations ahead of Saturday. Leinster are expected to win, and any other outcome will cause a major surprise.
‘We’ve been unbeaten in this competition, but we’ve lost some big games along the way,’ said Lancaster.
‘Part of the frustration for me is not being as consistent across the board this season as I wanted us to be.
‘That said, in Europe we’ve done well. I think honestly the pains from last year (losing in the semi-final to Clermont), the lessons we learned, having more adaptability in our game, having different styles to play against different opposition, is important.
‘I think we’ve definitely improved in that regard, but all that is irrelevant come Saturday, because every game starts at zero, whether you’ve won your semi-final by a point.
‘I go back to Saracens, I think it was against Clermont in the semifinal in 2014 when they won 46-6 at Twickenham and then lost against Toulon in the final.
‘So what you’ve done in the semi-final is irrelevant. It’s about what you do in the final.’