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'England will be a good barometer when it comes to it, how much we have improved'
Johnny Sexton is hoping Ireland can welcome defending champions England to Dublin on March 20 with the Guinness Six Nations title still up for grabs and offering every incentive for Andy Farrell’s team to show they really can fight it out with Eddie Jones’ bullies.
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England have battered Ireland in the past four encounters, winning Six Nations and World Cup warm-up games by respective 32-20 and 57-15 at a time when Joe Schmidt was coach and Rory Best captain.
That pattern didn’t change in 2020 after assistant coach Farrell succeeded Schmidt, Ireland losing 24-12 and 18-7 in Six Nations and Nations Cup games at Twickenham where England strangled the life out of the Irish to leave the results effectively settled by the interval.
Sexton, who was skipper for last February’s Six Nations loss in London, claimed England are not yet in the Irish crosshairs but he admitted next March’s latest meeting will tell much about Ireland’s progress under Farrell who last week named a 36-man squad for the tournament.
“It’s probably the one team we haven’t thought about at all because they are last, they are our last game. We have got a massive game first up against Wales and then we will focus on France,” he said.
ANALYSIS: @heagneyl ??? looks back on Andy Farrell's first year in charge of Ireland #ICTYMI https://t.co/kLL7qJ2PZ8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 3, 2021
“But yeah, it will be a good barometer when it comes to it, how much we have improved. Hopefully for us now our focus is making sure that game against England that there is something on the line and there is something to play for.
“That is where we were last year against France, to play for the championship and we didn’t turn up on the day and we want to put that right.”
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In more ways than one. That 35-27 October defeat, a losing margin massaged by some late consolation scores, was the match where huge questions were raised about Sexton’s suitability to captain Ireland.
When substituted, he exhibited a fit of pique when looking up to the coaches’ box from the sidelines and it ignited a campaign which suggested up-and-coming forward James Ryan was the better long-term bet to be the Irish skipper.
Sexton, though, held on to the responsibility and he is hoping to build on a record where Ireland won five of the seven matches in 2020 that he was captain for. Always an honour, always a privilege to get asked to do it,” he enthused.
“It was always a case of let’s take it campaign by campaign. Very, very proud to do it again and looking forward to it. I have learned a lot over the first year doing it and I hopefully will be better for it going forward into this campaign.”
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Jonathan Sexton reflects on his reaction to his substitution during Ireland's Six Nations game against France. #SixNations #SixNations2020 pic.twitter.com/qIMeg74U3f
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 5, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments