Age no barrier to evergreen Sexton
Fly-half put Lions rejection behind him to exert an even greater influence as Leinster target fifth Champions Cup
A round of golf can reveal much about a person’s character and it was on the rolling fairways of the spectacular Royal County Down club course last summer that Johnny Sexton left those in his company in no doubt about what his response would be to the intense disappointment of missing out on the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
Just days earlier Warren Gatland, the Lions coach, had named his squad and the selection of fly-halves Dan Biggar, Finn Russell and Owen Farrell ahead of the Ireland captain – and veteran of the 2013 and 2017 tours – had come as a crushing blow. It was a sentiment aggravated when Gatland later turned to Harlequins rookie Marcus Smith as an injury call-up.
At the age of 35, Sexton could have been forgiven for thinking that his best days were behind him. Other players in a similar situation might have even considered calling time on their careers.
David Humphreys, the former Ireland fly-half who joined him in a four-ball organised by Sexton’s close friend and predecessor as Irish captain, Rory Best, certainly wondered what the impact of the omission would be on his mindset.
“I was fascinated to see his reaction,” Humphreys, who won 72 caps for Ireland before retiring in 2006 and himself experienced the pain of missing out on selection for Lions tours, told Telegraph Sport.
“I didn’t know him well and hadn’t really had an in-depth chat with him before, but during the next four hours I was completely blown away by his determination and incredible motivation about what he still wanted to achieve in rugby, despite being incredibly disappointed by missing out on the Lions.
“I thought he might have been feeling sorry for himself and contemplating retirement, given the bumps and bruises he had taken. But his reaction was unequivocal: not a chance. He said he was nowhere near finished and still felt he had a huge amount to offer.
“When you get to my stage, you look back and see your playing days are the best years of your life and my advice to players is always if they are fit then to keep playing at that level. But with Johnny I didn’t even need to suggest that because it came through loud and clear that he was going to keep going as long as he could. I came away thinking he was nowhere near finished.”
Sexton has done more than just keep going. Twelve months on and, at 36, he is arguably playing some of the best rugby of his career, exerting an even greater influence on those around him.
Any thoughts that Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach, might have considered backing a new fly-half for next year’s World Cup have dissipated, while Sexton remains central to Leinster’s push for a fifth European Champions Cup title when they face La Rochelle in the final in Marseille today.
“When you watch how Johnny has played since last year, I would argue he has been the best 10 in the northern hemisphere, certainly in the UK and Ireland,” Humphreys, the former Ulster and Gloucester director of rugby, said. “His level of performance for both Leinster and Ireland has been outstanding every weekend.
“Leinster, when Johnny plays at 10, are a machine in terms of how they play. It is not just his level of performance but also the confidence he gives to all those around him. He drives the game and he makes very good decisions.”
Those attributes will not be lost on Ronan O’gara, La Rochelle’s head coach, who was once Humphreys’ fierce rival for the Ireland No 10 shirt, only to be then pushed himself for the position by a young pretender in Sexton. The image of Sexton screaming over O’gara during Leinster’s 2009 semi-final victory over Munster at Croke Park is one of the defining images of the history of the tournament. It is fair to say their relationship in those days was frosty, but has grown into one of friendship and respect, benefiting from the brief time they spent together at Racing 92, where O’gara began his coaching career.
“I am fascinated to see what plan ROG
[O’gara] puts in place to try to slow the ball down because if they don’t do that, Johnny Sexton will be the dominant personality in terms of shaping the game,” Humphreys said.
“Last year when La Rochelle beat Leinster [in the semi-final], they were able to slow the midfield rucks down, but one of the things Leinster will be pleased about is that Wayne Barnes is the referee as he will make sure the game flows.
“The only way I believe you can stop Leinster is to try to smash their pack up front, and La Rochelle have a big pack, but also by slowing their ruck speed down. If they don’t, they will be chasing the ball around, with Johnny pulling the strings.”