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'That second game in 2016 was almost the turning point for a lot of high tackle rule changes... yellows would be reds now'
Johnny Sexton has warned New Zealand that any repeat of their strong-arm tactics from Dublin in 2016 will lead to red cards in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final.
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British and Irish Lions fly-half Sexton believes Sam Cane and Malakai Fekitoa avoiding straight dismissals in New Zealand’s 21-9 win in Dublin three years ago sparked the sport’s crackdown on high tackles.
Flanker Cane was only penalised for knocking out Robbie Henshaw with a head-high shot at a ruck, while centre Fekitoa was merely sin-binned for a crude high tackle on Simon Zebo.
New Zealand had reacted with unbridled fury to their 40-29 loss to Ireland in Chicago from a fortnight earlier to reassert their authority in a pulsating encounter.
Ireland claimed their maiden win over New Zealand in Dublin last November, seeing off the All Blacks 16-9. But while Sexton expects another ferocious response on Saturday, the 34-year insists there will be no repeat of that renegade physicality from the Dublin loss of 2016.
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“I’m sure that is what they will be speaking about going into this game, to go into it at full-tilt,” said Sexton ahead of Saturday’s showdown with the back-to-back world champions.
“As far as that second game in 2016 went, that was almost the turning point for a lot of the rule changes about high tackles. Some of the yellow cards that were given out and some things that were missed, they would be reds now.
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“They probably weren’t intentional at the time, but if they happened now there would be different consequences. So I don’t think it will happen again. They had a game recently when they went down to 14 against Australia, so I’m sure they will be very disciplined on the day.”
Sexton was Ireland’s only player to train at the Tokyo Stadium on Friday, with the rest of boss Joe Schmidt’s match squad completing their session at their training base. The accomplished playmaker admitted he was keen not to break from routine, having always kicked at a stadium the day before a Test match.
Sexton took the hour-long bus journey from the team hotel but was glad of the chance to get his bearings at the ground, alongside skills coach Richie Murphy. “I just didn’t want to break routine before a big game,” said Sexton.
“I’ve never not kicked at a stadium the day before a game, so I wasn’t going to start something new now. I had the bus to myself, and I had the pitch to myself, which was a bit strange. But I was able to chill out on the bus and I’ll do the same on the way back.”
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Sexton and scrum-half Conor Murray will set a new Ireland record 56th joint Test start as a half-back pairing, moving past the previous high mark held by Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara. The 87-cap Ireland fly-half Sexton admitted he expects people to start talking about the end of his partnership with 30-year-old Murray straight after the World Cup – but vowed both men still have a big Test future.
“When we started off we wouldn’t have believed we would go on to play this many games together,” said Sexton. “It was like two strangers, almost introducing ourselves to each other in the first two games. And look, we’ve gone from strength to strength. He’s a top-quality operator, a quality pass and kicking game and all the things you’d expect from a world-class scrum-half.
“It’s been a pleasure to play alongside him and I hope that we have many more together. At the end of the World Cup, people will probably start calling for our heads, saying we’re too old and that the next batch needs to come through; I can see it already. But we hope that we’ve got a good few more years left in us yet.”
– Press Association
WATCH: Ireland boss Joe Schmidt and skipper Rory Best talk to the media ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments