Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JOHNNY READY TO LEAD AGAIN
JOHNNY SEXTON put the feelers out before agreeing to retain the Ireland captaincy.
He was disappointed with his performance in February’s 24-12 defeat to England at Twickenham - the last Test game before lockdown.
As skipper, the loss cut even deeper. “Big time,” admitted Sexton. “It hurts more because you’re the guy who is meant to be leading by example and putting in the performance that shows the way.
“If you don’t do that, it can be a hard place to have to stand and talk and to try and lead.
“It was a tough way to finish but I’ve been happy with how I’ve been going with Leinster and just want to go forward now with this group.
“The leadership thing has come later in my career than most but it’s still not an excuse to not improve.”
Ahead of the final two Six Nations games against Italy and France,
Sexton surveyed tried and trusted lieutenants before keeping the role.
“I wanted to make sure the guys thought I did a good job and asked for some feedback around that,” said the veteran out-half, 35.
“It was a good and bad time for the Six Nations to finish up for me. Obviously I’d a bad personal performance against England.
“It was not a good head space to be in for a long time, waiting for your next game. But it gave me a good chance to reflect on the leadership stuff and searching for that feedback and try and improve in that regard.
“I got some good insights and we worked hard as a leadership group over the time to try and improve ourselves as a group.
“The time was brilliant for that. Hopefully we will see the fruition for however long I do it for.
“There is some stuff I need to do better but I’ll keep that to myself.”