Sexton has one remaining ambition to fulfil in Japan
Alex Bywater talks to the Leinster and Irish playmaker about what drives him on this season
“Sexton is softly spoken, but his desire is obvious and the passion still burns bright”
JOHNNY Sexton still has one accolade he wants to add to his stellar CV for Leinster and Ireland – World Cup glory with his country. That is the driving force behind the 33-year-old’s renewed vigour for the campaign to come. Sexton’s innate drive has taken him to the top, but he admits he’s going to have a tough task emulating his success last season.
With Ireland, the playmaker secured a Six Nations Grand Slam and a series win in Australia, while an historic Guinness PRO14 and Champions Cup double made it a year to remember with Leinster too.
“The World Cup is the pinnacle of rugby and when you see the players who have won it, you obviously want to try to emulate them. That’s the aim for me,” Sexton said.
“In Ireland we haven’t performed consistently at World Cups and that means we can’t publicly come out and say we would like to win it. We’ve never been past a quarter-final.
“You want to go into every competition with the aim of winning it, but there is always hype about Ireland coming into a World Cup and we’ve got to figure out how we can make it different to the previous years. It hasn’t gone to plan for us in the past.”
Sexton drove Leinster to the double last season and has been appointed captain of his boyhood club for the season to come.
He remains the driving force behind every team he plays for, but Japan in 2019 looks likely to be his last shot at major glory.
“We were in camp with Ireland for a couple of days last week. It was a very brief stay, but one of the management said to us that between now and the World Cup, we will probably play 27 to 30 games maximum. It really narrows the focus down,” Sexton said.
“You picture yourself having loads of time to get ready for it, but we probably don’t have that much time so we have to concentrate on the various blocks through the season.”
Ireland’s centrally contracted system means Joe Schmidt’s best players will all have their game time managed this season with the World Cup in mind.
Wales operate a similar policy, while England’s main men are likely to have little time to draw breath from the rigorous of the Premiership. Could that be to Ireland’s benefit 15 months down the line?
“I don’t think rugby ever feels relentless. If you ask some of the guys in the Premiership, maybe they might say so,” Sexton said. “I played 23 games last year. All of the matches I played were top-class; internationals, Europe or inter-provincial. I’m happy with that.
“Could I have played more? Yes. But maybe we’re managed for a reason so we can finish the season and not feel like we have been flogged. We are very lucky in Ireland we are managed and I don’t feel as I probably should at this age and at this stage of my career.”
Sexton is softly spoken, but his desire is obvious and the passion still burns bright. He remains one of Northern Hemisphere rugby’s shining lights and one of the biggest names in the global game.
Rugby will miss him when he’s gone.
“It is going be hard to top last season,” Sexton said, turning his attention to the start of the new PRO14 season with Leinster. “The other teams have recruited and built on last year.
“For me, Edinburgh stand out with some of the players they have signed and the job Richard Cockerill did last year. We have to be better and it’s going to be hard because we’re doing it with fewer players than last year.”