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Former Ireland captain Rory Best's concern with Johnny Sexton

By PA
(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Rory Best fears Ireland are more reliant on veteran fly-half Johnny Sexton now than they were in the run-up to the last World Cup.

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Influential skipper Sexton underwent surgery on a cheekbone injury at the start of the month but is expected to be selected when Andy Farrell names his Guinness Six Nations squad on Thursday.

More than 13 years on from his Test debut, the 37-year-old Leinster player remains his country’s undisputed first-choice for the number 10 role, with this year’s autumn World Cup in France fast approaching.

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Joey Carbery, Jack Carty, Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne, Billy Burns, Ciaran Frawley and Jack Crowley have each been handed opportunities to deputise during the tenure of head coach Farrell.

Yet retired hooker Best believes former international team-mate Sexton has widened the gap to his rivals and admits the lack of competition is “a worry”.

“I definitely don’t think we’re less dependent; we were probably less dependent on Johnny about six or seven years ago than we are now,” said the ex-Ireland captain.

“I think there’s a combination of things. Joey’s injuries haven’t helped since the last World Cup, while Johnny has played some of the best rugby he’s ever played, and then we’ve got a lot of young guys who aren’t getting a lot of game time, starting 10 in big games.

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“There’s plenty of URC (United Rugby Championship) experience there and as we’ve sort of seen, I think in the URC there’s unfortunately a gulf between the top and bottom teams, it’s too big.

“I don’t know that we’re necessarily any closer to finding cover for Johnny. If anything Johnny has widened the gap by the way he’s playing and in the way he’s leading, which is always a worry.”

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Ireland start the Six Nations as favourites on the back of a stellar 2022 which brought a historic series win in New Zealand and top spot in the world rankings.

While Farrell’s men will be eager to build on last year’s Triple Crown success, Best believes there is a case for using the tournament to develop competition for the likes of Sexton and tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong ahead of a shot at winning rugby’s ultimate prize in September and October.

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“This Six Nations will be interesting to see is it about a Grand Slam or a championship and really ramming home that momentum that we’ve built over the last couple of years,” said the 40-year-old.

“Or is there a scenario where we go, ‘we’ve a couple of holes around Furlong, around Sexton and we’re going to put them on the bench to give us a safety blanket but we’ve got to try to push through the next people in there’.

“That’s a question that will be answered over the next couple of months and it will be a question that Andy will know the answer to himself. But ultimately that is a decision and a strategy that has to be made.”

Sage is the official insights partner of Six Nations Rugby and will be powering the Smart Ball during the Guinness Six Nations #SageInsights.

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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