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'They were showing all the young 10s in Ireland clips of him' - Johnny Sexton joins Dan Carter for wide-ranging interview

By Ciarán Kennedy
Dan Carter held a wide-ranging interview with Johnny Sexton. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

All Blacks legend Dan Carter says he sees lots of similarities in the way he and Johnny Sexton play the game. Ireland out-half Sexton was the latest guest on Carter’s Kickin’ It interview series on Instagram As well as discussing highlights from their careers, the two out-halves spoke about the similarities in how they both approach playing at 10.

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I think there are a lot of similarities to be honest,” Carter said.

“We love to control the game, so some of our specialities or parts of the game that are similar is that game management. We see space.

“We probably get just as much satisfaction setting up others players as we do potentially scoring tries ourself, even though the two of us don’t score that many. So that’s always quite nice.

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“But I think game management and controlling the players (is similar). I mean, I look at the way Johnny plays, he’s always creating or demanding from the people around him. You can see him leading, and he tells what he wants from the players around him.

“And that was a big focus for me, probably more in the later stages of my career, because I’d just get away with natural talent (in the early stages), but then over time it was like, OK, now I’ve got to try and push the guys around me to help me and to help the team. So that sort of game management, controlling the game, for the two of us is very similar.”

While Sexton was reluctant to compare himself with the three-time World Player of the Year, he explained how he has been one of the key influences on his career.

“I don’t really want to compare myself to Dan Carter,” Sexton said.

“I will say that I’ve tried to watch Dan over the years. He’s not that much older than me, but he hit the skin a lot earlier than me.

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“I remember watching his big break-through in 2005 against the Lions. I think I was just leaving school, and straight away tried to rob parts of his game and bring them into my own.

“I remember analysts showing all the young 10s in Ireland different clips of him, and when I talk about the greatest out-halves he’s obviously top of the tree.

“I used to really admire Jonny Wilkinson as well and try and take bits of his game, and Dan’s good friend Ronan O’Gara was the Irish out-half when I was growing up.

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“So I tried to always look at out-halves and take bits of their game and try and improve really. That was always something that I had in mind, and he was definitely at the fore-front of that.”

Despite his vast experience in the game, Sexton, 34, said he is still learning from fellow out-halves.

“I still definitely look at 10s, because often 10s come on the scene and they change the game in certain ways, or they do something where you think ‘OK, that’s a little bit special, I need to try and do that.’

“But like some parts of my game, I couldn’t (change)… If I look at someone like Beauden Barrett, I can’t make myself unbelievably fast and score as many tries as he does. So that would just be silly. I’d break myself if I went out and tried to run quick.

“So it’s trying to be realistic and taking bits of people’s games that I admire and that I think would help me and the team.

“I’ve been lucky to learn from some great 10s. Felipe (Contepomi), I’m still leaning from him and I worked with ROG at Racing. He didn’t give me too many words of wisdom because he probably still felt like he was competing with me at the time. We probably were competing in training sessions, he was still joining in at that stage.

“But I’ve always tried to learn, and I’m still in that bracket. I still feel like one of the young guys so I want to keep trying to learn all the time.”

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john 7 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

13 Go to comments
A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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