FARRELL PRAISES SEXTON FOR LEADING BY EXAMPLE

IRELAND head coach Andy Farrell has hailed the impact of Johnny Sexton after the Ireland captain rolled back the years with a brilliant display in Saturday’s Six Nations victory in Rome. There has been plenty of speculation about the Leinster No10’s future at international level, with the 35-year-old, who is set to sign a one-year contract extension with the IRFU imminently, intimating last week that he may be nearing the end of his stellar Test career. But Sexton showed his worth to this squad with an impressive 80-minute shift during Ireland’s six-try dismantling of the Azzurri. And Farrell believes that his captain can inspire the next generation of leaders in this squad. ‘His performance was excellent but it’s more than that,’ he said. ‘The lessons that can be learnt from Johnny, from the experience, is how you make people feel, how you approach a week, how you attack a weekend, the game itself, when there’s a little bit of pressure that’s on you as well and how you make people feel and how you make the group feel confident, and it’s everyone’s job to step up to the plate. ‘But Johnny has been world class at that for most of his life and most of his career and that’s why he is where he’s at. He’s led outstandingly well and he’s made the group feel really good about themselves this week. ‘He’s also influenced others to step up to that plate and they’re growing. The leadership is growing but the individuals within the group are learning that lesson as well.’ The Ireland squad will break for a few days before returning to camp on Thursday as they ramp up preparations for their clash with Scotland on March 14. Farrell may need to call up some frontrow cover after Dave Kilcoyne, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong all suffered knocks in the second half of the 48-10 win at Stadio Olimpico. Meanwhile Jacob Stockdale could be in line for a recall after the Ulster wing made his comeback from a knee injury last weekend. ‘There’s a couple of lads that have got a chance to play this weekend at their provinces, some inter-provincial games next weekend as well and yet to decide who will go back but we’ll decide that sooner rather than later,’ Farrell added.