JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS

Sexton soaking up every morsel from sporting greats like NBA’S Steph

IT is Johnny Sexton’s famous inner drive that keeps him performing at a world class level, even when he is much closer to 40 than 30.

That is why, when he gets to meet sporting superstars, he loves the chance to pick their brains, to add to what he’s got in his own locker.

But others want to know the secrets to his success and longevity too.

Take basketball great Steph Curry, the Golden Warriors’ point guard who is renowned as the best shooter in history.

Four-time NBA winner Curry, 34, was in Dublin recently during his off-season. He popped into the IRFU’S high performance centre on September 12, where he met with Sexton.

The pair exchanged jerseys (inset) – Sexton’s green No.10 shirt swapped for a Warriors’ blue and yellow one with Curry 30 on the back. “The opportunity to meet someone like that was insane, I couldn’t get over how humble he was, how down to earth he was,” said Sexton yesterday.

“I was hoping to ask him a few questions about his routine and how he preps but I couldn’t get any questions in because he was asking me about rugby and how to pass the ball!

“In basketball, he shoots with the same hand all the time and he couldn’t get over how we’ve to do it with our bad hand and kick with both feet.”

For Sexton, focusing on how other high achievers perform is a favourite study and he gets “a huge amount” from doing it.

He pores over documentaries, taking his lead from Leinster’s senior coach Stuart Lancaster, who likes to show the players insightful videos in meetings.

The 37-year-old said: “It’s a big part of, not staying ahead, but there’s so much transfer from sport to sport and you learn so many small things from those documentaries.

“The more you can watch the better – you’ll get something out of it.” Had Curry taken the time to ask Sexton about what has driven him on over the last 18 months, the answer would have been that infamous Lions snub of two summers ago.

Missing that tour to South Africa still scratches at him inside, still provides a kind of narky inspiration for the Dubliner to stay in the elite grade of his sport.

And it is why he is again among the nominees for World Rugby Player of the Year on Sunday. It is why, the night before that glitzy awards ceremony in Monaco, he will be the man Australia need to keep quiet to win at the Aviva Stadium. “The Lions selection still drives me to this day,” he said. “Any time I feel I’m getting a bit of ahead of myself I just think back to not being picked for that.

“Again, it’s opinion, isn’t it? The World Player of the Year is a few people’s opinion. They think you’ve done well.

“When it came down to the Lions selection a few important people thought that I wasn’t the right fit for that team and it hurt like hell.

“It just shows the fickleness of selection and everything, you don’t want to go out from international rugby like that.

“It’s a big motivating factor. I’d rather have got picked and I still think I’d be hungry but maybe sometimes you need a bit of a stir up like that.

“The coaches thought that I wasn’t the right person for the job and that’s life. You’ve got to get over it. But you’ve got to use it.”

SHOOTING STARS Sexton (left yesterday) tells of his meeting with Steph Curry (above)