BACK IN DECEMBER, Warren Gatland admitted that Johnny Sexton’s durability was a concern and stressed that the Six Nations was going to be important for the Ireland out-half in terms of pushing his Lions claims.
That came after Sexton had suffered a hamstring injury during the November Tests, and before he spent around seven weeks out of the game working to ensure that issue didn’t strike again.
Fast forward to the first week of the Six Nations and Sexton has been ruled out of Ireland’s meeting with Scotland due to a calf injury.
There was an air of inevitability around Tuesday’s announcement that the 31-year-old would not be available this weekend, such has been the extent of his physical frustration in recent times.
Having backed Sexton as his starting out-half on the successful 2013 tour of Australia, Gatland is well aware of how excellent a player the Irishman is, but another injury in a long list of them only adds to the concerns.
“He is obviously a really quality player but that’s the thing as well – there is going to be some real attrition in New Zealand and you are going to need some players that are going to be able to handle what is going to be an incredibly tough and physical tour with the ten matches,” said Gatland at Temple Street Children’s Hospital yesterday.
“Hopefully, we have a group of players that can last that time and you don’t pick up too many injuries. That’s something that we have got to be aware of too.
“The next few months are important for him, aren’t they? It’s not just Johnny. There are a number of players from the four nations that have had injuries and that have found it difficult to put a consecutive part of the season together.
“Johnny has been unfortunate in the last couple of seasons in that he has picked up a few injuries, a couple of knocks to the head as well, so for me I’m hoping that he gets back to fitness as quickly as possible and starts to play in that Irish Six Nations team and performs well.”
Gatland is convinced that Sexton will not take much time to get back up to speed if he can shake this latest injury problem.
“Someone of Johnny’s experience and calibre, the fact that he isn’t available, he is going to be able to fit back seamlessly into the team and you hope he is going to get back fit and get a number of games under his belt, potentially in the Six Nations and towards the end of the season.”
While Sexton’s Lions prospects appear a little unclear at present, Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray looks like a shoo-on.
The Munster man is arguably the in-form scrum-half in world rugby, having developed into a complete player.
His rich vein of form has also brought with it attention from the opposition, with Murray accusing Glasgow of attempting to deliberately injure him in a recent Champions Cup clash.
With Ireland facing many of those Warriors this weekend in Murrayfield and Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw promising that Murray will feel their close attention, it will be fascinating to see how the Ireland scrum-half performs.
Gatland, for one, welcomes the pressure on Murray.
“I think that quality players revel in those sort of challenges,” says Gatland. “You can’t hide behind the fact that there are certain players in teams that make a difference. If they are playing well, as an opposition coach you target certain players to limit their impact on the game.
“Conor is going to come under some scrutiny from opposition teams because they are aware of the subtle breaks he makes, how strong his kicking game is, just how he controls the game and leads the Irish team around the park.
“I think it is a positive if he responds to those sort of pressures and, from a coaching point of view, that is what I am looking forward to. That is what you want, your best quality players to be able to respond to those pressures.
“That is sport and in any type of sport your best players get targeted. It’s not just going to be him for Ireland. It’s going to be key players from some of the other nations as well who are seen to be pretty vital to performances and it’s just how they respond to that expectation and that pressure.”
Gatland won’t be surprised if Murray comes through that pressure impressively.
The Lions boss saw on the 2013 tour of Australia just how mentally strong the Ireland scrum-half is.
“If there was another Test he would have been a starter,” says Gatland. “Probably someone who came on tour as number three and ended up by the end of the third Test having really grown.
“Some players in a Lions set-up really take their opportunities to grow and he took it with both hands, really grew and matured and developed on that tour. He was outstanding. There were one or two in 2013 who struggled with that and went into the shadow and were disappointing in the way they performed.
“Conor was definitely a real success story for us from 2013 and people are aware how important it is that he is fit.”
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