Sexton a born leader but he must cool temper
SAYS MALCOLM O’KELLY
MALCOLM O’KELLY knows all about Johnny Sexton’s infamous temper. One of the ‘elder statesmen’ of the Leinster pack, O’Kelly recalls their first interaction, when he tried to impart some advice on a fiery young out-half.
It did not quite go according to plan. ‘He told me to f*** off!’ O’Kelly said, with a hearty laugh.
‘I told him to get back 10 (metres), he was giving out. He’d just given away a penalty and he told me to f*** off.
‘He abused the hell out of me. And I was the elder statesman of the team. He was only in there a wet week. I was pretty pi**ed off with him. So I gave out to him and he gave out to me again.’
It’s an amusing anecdote, but O’Kelly — who made 182 appearances for Leinster — feels Sexton must ‘cool it down’ if he wants to continue in his new role as the province’s captain.
Echoing Brian O’Driscoll’s comments that Sexton’s antagonistic approach with referees needs to be curbed, O’Kelly agreed that the Ireland and Leinster outhalf needs to rein in his temper when dealing with officials.
‘That’s who he is, he’s always going to be fiery,’ O’Kelly said. ‘Maybe if he doesn’t recover and improve his attitude, it might be good for him that he has to cool it down. Maybe he shouldn’t be a captain, I don’t know.’
Still, O’Kelly is quick to extol the virtues of his former teammate.
The retired lock was on the field when Sexton, still very much a greenhorn at the top level, drove Leinster to their first Heineken Cup title in 2009 with an inspirational performance against Leicester Tigers at Murrayfield.
O’Kelly hung up his boots by the time Leinster had reached another European final two years later. He could only watch as the Leinster No 10 led that memorable secondhalf revival to overthrow Northampton at the Millennium Stadium.
The topic of Sexton’s temperament is getting plenty of airplay this week. For O’Kelly, it’s worth remembering that Sexton’s passion has fuelled many of the province’s great performances.
‘He’s done a lot for Leinster,’ he said. ‘When you think of the Northampton match, even the Edinburgh game (in 2009), his belief was incredible.
‘It was something bigger that was driving us to success. He has an incredible belief.’
These are early days in Sexton’s tenure as Leinster skipper, having succeeded Isa Nacewa in the summer. He is learning on the job and nights like last Saturday’s Thomond Park tussle are part of that process.
The likes of Keith Wood, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell did not become perfect captains overnight. It was an evolution.
‘Leinster wanted him there because they just lost Isa and I’d say Johnny wanted it,’ said O’Kelly, who won 92 caps for Ireland.
‘I think he really wants it. There is no perfect captain material. Brian O’Driscoll became captain but Brian was very quiet, he was his own man and he was a bit of a dude, you know.
‘But you look at him now and certainly by the end, he was proper captain material. But Johnny has only stepped into it, so I think you have to give him a bit of a leash.
‘He’s a leader. He was a leader from day one. I don’t make too much out of it because he is who he is. He’s a great leader. Off the pitch, he runs the show.’
Having played alongside O’Connell, Donnacha O’Callaghan and Leo Cullen, O’Kelly knows a good lock when he sees one. He was 24 when he won his first cap against the All Blacks at the old Lansdowne Road in 1997. James Ryan is only 22 and already has 13 caps, including a win over New Zealand, to his name. O’Kelly has witnessed the astonishing rise of the former St Michael’s student to become one of the top locks on the planet, and cites his decision to start calling the Leinster lineouts since the November Tests as an important move. ‘I think he brings pretty much everything you can bring,’ he added. ‘He’s taken over the lineout calling duties with Leinster, certainly from (Scott) Fardy in the Munster match. There’s been a push, maybe from Ireland or from himto kind of say, “ok, it’s time for me to step up”. That’s probably what he wants. ‘He is a big enough guy. He just needs to work at finding a lineout that really works for him.’ Either way, Ryan will get plenty of feedback from his skipper. O’Kelly knows all about that. Malcolm O’Kelly was speaking ahead of the Ireland v England Rugby Legends (RDS, Feb 1). All proceeds go to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Rugby Players Ireland Foundation, Restart Rugby, the IRFU Charitable Trust and Irish motor neurone charities. For tickets search #RugbyLegends or visit Ticketmaster.
92 Malcolm O’Kelly played 92 times for Ireland, making his debut aged 24 against the All Blacks in 1997