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The telling statistic that counted against Sexton in his Lions out-half selection battle with Russell
Bringing four out-halves to South Africa was never an option for Lions boss Warren Gatland and he justified his decision to omit Johnny Sexton – a starter in five of the famed tourists’ last six Test matches – by producing a debate-ending statistic ahead of the trip to South Africa that is set to be bruising.
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Despite starting all three games in the 2013 Test series versus Australia and another two Lions Test matches four years later versus the All Blacks, Sexton was the odd man out when Gatland unveiled the No10s he is taking to face the Springboks in July.
The veteran Ireland skipper is set to turn 36 in July while the Lions are touring but his age wasn’t the deciding factor in the debate as to which three of Sexton, Owen Farrell, Dan Biggar and Finn Russell should be on the plane to South Africa.
Sexton’s issues with concussion in recent weeks also weren’t a factor, insisted the Lions coach. Instead, the decision came down to durability and what seemingly did for the Leinster player was Gatland’s revelation that he hadn’t started matches on three consecutive weekends since 2018.
A look through Sexton’s appearance record revealed that this happened in September of that year, the out-half wearing the No10 Leinster jersey on three occasions in the space of 14 days against Dragons, Edinburgh and Connacht.
Looks like fans might have to wait till 2025 to see an Itoje/Ryan second row combo. #LionsRugby #Lions2021 #Lionshttps://t.co/KQq5CuGGyh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 6, 2021
That sort of run hasn’t occurred since and it was an influential factor in Gatland siding on this occasion with the credentials of Russell rather than take a risk on Sexton. “He was outstanding against Scotland and great against England,” said the Lions boss about Sexton. “There is no doubt he is a quality player and at the end of the day it wasn’t about concussion for me.
“We made a tough call about durability. The thing with the Six Nations is you have a couple of games and then you have a week off. I know that he was rested on a number of occasions for Leinster or for Ireland but the last time Johnny played (started) three consecutive weekends in a row was 2018 and he has had some knocks and a number of different injuries.
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“When it came down to it we have got such a choice there, quality 10s we could pick from, and I just wanted to be able to send a message to the guys that we have selected that we have complete confidence and faith in you to do a job and it was mitigated against the risk that if we do pick Johnny and he doesn’t get through the tour, then having to call someone up. To me, it’s such an important position. I just wanted to get that right and get the message right.”
What caught Gatland’s eye and demanded that he included Russell in his squad was the Six Nations finale in Paris when Scotland defeated France away for the first time since 1999 and handed Wales the title. Russell was shown a red card in the closing stages of that match but by then he had done more than enough to make a favourable impression on the New Zealander.
“We have got differences with our 10s and I thought that was important. I thought Finn, the best game he played in the Six Nations was against France. What impressed me was his game management, the way he controlled the game, turning France around and putting them under pressure, making them work more when the opportunities came about but also his kicking game and putting them under pressure.
“He has got so much more of a balanced game now in terms of when to run, when to turn teams around, when to kick. We understand there are some real quality 10s out there and I wanted to personally send a message, particularly to Finn that we back him and have the confidence in him to put pressure on the other 10s and put his hand up for the Test side.
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“I thought it was a really important message for me to be able to deliver to someone like Finn. We understand about Johnny and how disappointed he may be. What a great player he is but when it came down to it, it was physicality. It wasn’t anything about concussion, I can promise you that.
“It was just looking at the durability and how tough South Africa is going to be from that point of view and we wanted to send the right message to the squad that we have selected that we trust you, we back you and we are going to pick you from the start because you are so important to us. It’s such a pivotal role and for him [Russell] to come up with that confidence and self-belief is important for me.”
FORM GUIDE: A look at every single one of Warren Gatland's 37-man Lions squad. #Lions2021 #LionsRugby #Lionshttps://t.co/RWb0Kj1Y1b
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 6, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments