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Two from two under Farrell, Sexton tackles 'culture of fear' allegations about life under Schmidt

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Johnny Sexton is making this captaincy lark look easy-peasy. Two wins from two over the past two Saturdays have got Ireland off to flyer in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations and so confident is he with the pep in his step, he even took a moment in the wake of the win over Wales to admonish some of the spin published recently about life under Joe Schmidt compared to his successor Andy Farrell.

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There were some damning ‘culture of fear’ commentary in midweek in the build-up to round two, allegations that suggested life under Schmidt wasn’t a whole load of laughs and that the Schmidt way had essentially been consigned to the bin.

Not so insisted Sexton who, after scoring all 19 of Ireland’s points in the 19-12 opening-round win over Scotland, allowed some team-mates get in on the scoring act versus the Welsh, the out-half accounting for just four of his team’s total in a convincing 24-14 bonus point triumph where the result flattered the visitors as they tacked on a consolation seven points with the clock in the red. 

There had been much handwringing about how Ireland collapsed in 2019, going from being sumptuous Grand Slam champions and a win over New Zealand the previous year to a mid-table championship rabble who couldn’t rediscover their power and their poise to stave off a miserable World Cup where they were ambushed by Japan and then buried by the vengeful All Blacks.

However, diluting the largely positive influence that Schmidt had on the Irish scene during his six-year tenure wasn’t something Sexton was buying from anyone when seated to the right of Farrell post-match at the Aviva and basking in the warm glow of a second successive 2020 championship win.  

(Continue reading below…) 

Wayne Pivac and Alun Wyn Jones after Wales’ defeat in Dublin

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“Look, we’re trying to look forward,” he said. “We’re trying to draw a line under last year, even under 2018, and we’re trying to build, we’re trying to develop something new and we’re trying to do things slightly differently. 

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“In saying that, some of the messages that have come out from our camp haven’t been taken the way it should be. You know, we have taken a lot of want Joe has done over the last few years and we have built on it and we have added bits to it and to suggest that we have just thrown away everything is wrong. 

“We have got a good balance. We have really improved in some areas and we have changed the way we do things which you have to do. You have to develop and adapt, but some of the messages that have gone out haven’t been entirely accurate.”

Still, Sexton was quick to laud the dismissal of the Welsh as Ireland’s best performance since the giddy heights of their stellar 2018, paying tribute to the creative influence the back three are particularly now bringing to the mix.   

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“Yeah (it’s the best), it wouldn’t be hard after last year. It was brilliant. It had a bit of everything. It had some of the stuff that we spoke about last week that we didn’t get to put out there against Scotland. 

“When you get the ball in our back three’s hands something can happen and they showed that. They stuck to the tactics really well in terms of when we got on the edge the temptation was always to run, but they got us field position at times brilliantly.

“Some of our shape stuff was really good, what we have been working on. And we won. That is the most important thing for us, winning. We’re building momentum now but obviously our biggest challenge is ahead in a couple of weeks’ time (the February 23 visit to England).  

“Wales are Grand Slam champions, World Cup semi-finalists for a reason. They are a top-quality team and they are hard to play against. We were going to have to one [a performance] up there like we were today, but it’s away from home and it’s against a team that were Cup finalists and will be hurting from last week. 

“Top quality side and the last two times we played England they have given us a right old spanking. We need to up our game from those level of performances. It is a tough place to go, Twickenham. We haven’t too many victories there over the years.”

Expect Sexton to have a mighty say in trying to change that pattern, just like he did against the Welsh. Ireland had only beaten Wales just once in the last five Six Nations meetings and his Friday night players only meeting certainly set the tone for that sequence to change. 

“What was talked about last night was really what the coaches had given to us over the last week and it was just putting the responsibility on ourselves to deliver that. We felt that we didn’t do that last week to the best of our ability and we talked about why that wasn’t the case.

“It was just about fixing up those little bits that would allow us to get into the game and show some of the stuff that we had been working on. That was really it. There is some motivational stuff that you try and get across and we wanted to show that, what it means to play for Ireland. 

“We didn’t get a chance to do that last week either really because when it is a stop-start game, you don’t get to celebrate tries and stuff. We got a bit of everything today which is great.”

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J
Jon 2 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”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 5 hours 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.

21 Go to comments
A
Adrian 7 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

21 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 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.

21 Go to comments
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