Sexton is rugby’s Messi, insists Contepomi
FELIPE CONTEPOMI has hailed Johnny Sexton as the Lionel Messi of rugby. Sexton was crowned World Player of the Year last month following a stellar 12 months for club and country. The 33-year-old fly-half has not played since Ireland’s 16-9 win over the All Blacks three weekends ago, but is set to return to the Leinster side for Saturday’s European Champions Cup meeting with Bath. Leinster have been compared to football heavyweights Barcelona in recent times and Contepomi, Leinster’s backs coach, sees some similarities between both teams. ‘Well, we have Messi,’ he said, in reference to Sexton. ‘We have the best player in the world. I don’t like comparisons, we are a team that is trying to get better and is trying to do what we do well even better. Our mentality, we still know we have a lot to improve on and a lot of areas to get better. That’s where we are heading and trying to go to. ‘Teams today with technology, they scout you too much so they’d know exactly what you’re going to do or try to know what you’re going to do. So you have to be creative and try new things. And it’s not about changing all the time, it’s
about trying new things.’ Leinster’s secondstring side inflicted 50-point defeats on the Ospreys and Dragons in recent weeks. Amid ongoing reports of ringfencing in the English Premiership, which has promotion and relegation, the Pro14 often comes in for criticism for its lack of intensity. Leinster’s ability to do without an array of frontline players in recent weeks, while still racking up wins has cast the level of competition in a negative light, but Contepomi believes that argument is too simplistic. ‘I think that Pro14 is a competition that has been improving, getting better and better every year,’ he added. ‘For me it’s not about result after result, it’s about performance and everyone speaks about Barcelona because of the amount of points that you score, I would put it the other way round, I would say that we’re very good because we defend very well,’ insisted the Argentinian. Meanwhile, Munster had a productive day of business yesterday with 12
players signing contract extensions with the southern province. John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Rory Scannell, Darren Sweetnam, Jack O’Donoghue, JJ Hanrahan, Alex Wootton, Rhys Marshall, Fineen Wycherley, Calvin Nash, Arno Botha and Jeremy Loughman have all extended their stays. Tighthead Ryan has signed a three-year deal that will see him remain at Munster until June 2022. ‘It’s great that guys want to stay at Munster,’ said head coach Johann van Graan. ‘They want to contribute and they believe in our dream that we have here.’ Van Graan is hopeful of having full-back Mike Haley and wing Andrew Conway available for Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with Castres at Thomond Park. Haley is undergoing return-to-play protocols after suffering a suspected concussion in the 44-14 victory over visiting Edinburgh last Friday night while Conway, who scored two tries in the encounter, is currently on the mend after suffering a bruised knee.