Sexton ready to form lethal partnership with rival Farrell
Gatland could pull surprise and start pair in first Test Ireland fly-half to lean on experience of 2013 glory
If pairing Owen Farrell and Jonathan Sexton in the Lions back line is one of the tricks Warren Gatland has up his sleeve ahead of the first Test against the All Blacks on Saturday, the Ireland flyhalf insists it will not faze either player – even though they have yet to start a tour game alongside each other.
Gatland, the Lions head coach, said he expected Farrell to shake off a quad injury that forced him to withdraw from the bench for the victory over the Maori All Blacks in time to be available for selection for the Eden Park clash.
Farrell has been one of the few names etched into the Test side from the start of the tour, but Sexton, who was the Test fly-half on the tour of Australia in 2013, delivered his best display of the tour yesterday by helping to orchestrate the hugely impressive victory over the Maori.
Both playmakers were forced to operate together in a makeshift backline for more than 50 minutes during the victory over the Crusaders eight days ago after head injuries to Stuart Hogg and Jonathan Davies.
In the same manner that England have benefited from playing George Ford and Farrell at inside centre, it provided an insight into extra attacking opportunities it could offer – in spite of the direct running prowess of Ben Te’o in the Saturday side.
So would Sexton and Farrell be ready to start against the All Blacks?
“Yeah, we played 50 minutes together against the Crusaders and things went… I think we went well together,” said Sexton. “At times, he was at 10 and I was able to be his eyes and at other times, I was at 10 and he was able to be mine.
“It’s great when you’ve got somebody at 12 who can help you out that much. When he was at 10, I tried to help him as well. I thought we played well together but it’s up to the coaches now. We all want to play in the Test team, but it’s a 23-man game as well.”
The conspiracy theories that Gatland always intended to play Farrell and Sexton together were given some weight by the revelation that the pair have been training together since they first assembled in Carton House in Dublin at the end of last month.
“There’s a few drills where you just naturally fall in together,” Sexton added. “If you know the game like he does, if he plays 10 or 12, he’ll be a huge asset to any team. He’s a top-class player.”
Sexton claimed that he did not think the performance would have gained any respect from the All Blacks – “the only way you earn their respect is by beating them,” he said. Yet having masterminded the Lions series victory over Australia four years ago, he believes Gatland’s side have the weaponry.
“It’s a much bigger challenge to 2013, the guys that were there can use the experience they gained with regards to the pressure,” Sexton added.
“Come Thursday, Friday, Auckland will be jammed with Lions supporters and that can just hit you.
“It’s small things like that help prepared the team, but this is the biggest challenge in rugby to take the All Blacks on in Eden Park, they haven’t lost there in 23 years, and it’s something you have to get excited about.”