AT ONE STAGE on Saturday morning, Johnny Sexton hunkered down in the middle of the pitch and seemed to be just soaking it all in.
12,000 people turning up to have a look at Ireland was pretty special. And Sexton had cause to reflect. Back in March, he worried about his World Cup involvement when he suffered a groin injury against England. Then just six weeks ago, he was stressed by the possibility of a long ban for his behaviour towards the match officials after Leinster’s Champions Cup final. It ended up being only three games.
Sexton is as resilient as they come. He turned 38 in July. There are four other 38-year-olds at the World Cup and even a 39-year-old in Namibia lock PJ van Lill, but it’s still some going.
As he crouched down at Stade de la Vallée du Cher, Sexton might have had previous World Cup experiences flash through his mind.
In 2011, Sexton was Ireland’s starting out-half when the tournament got underway in New Zealand. He came off for Ronan O’Gara in the opening win against the US and then shifted to midfield when O’Gara entered the fray a week later as they beat Australia.
And just like that, ROG took over at number 10. Sexton was dropped to the bench for the victories over Russia and Italy, then only got 25 minutes as a replacement in the quarter-final exit against Wales. Winning against the Wallabies was a real high, but Sexton must look back at that tournament with some frustration.
He was the undisputed main man by 2015 but that campaign ended with more disappointment. Sexton was tipping along nicely in the wins against Canada and Italy, while he was rested for the Romania game, but then he was struck down by a groin injury just 25 minutes into the decisive pool victory over France. Ian Madigan finished the game at out-half.
Sexton wasn’t the only one on the casualty list after that brutal battle but Joe Schmidt hoped that the talismanic playmaker would be fit enough for the quarter-final against Argentina. It was late in the week when confirmation finally came that Sexton wouldn’t make it. It was a crushing blow for the player and for the already hugely depleted Ireland, who lost to the Pumas.
And then in 2019, Sexton had another bad experience at the World Cup. He started the opening win over Scotland but didn’t feature in the shock defeat to Japan.
Sexton had taken a knock to the quad against the Scots, handing over place-kicking duties to Conor Murray before he was replaced by Jack Carty. But the reality is that Sexton was fit to face the Japanese. Schmidt admitted that Sexton had wanted to be involved, but the Ireland head coach decided to let him freshen up.
Schmidt must still regret that decision. Carty did start the game superbly and helped Ireland into a promising lead. He was unfairly scapegoated in the aftermath, but there’s no doubt that Ireland missed Sexton’s force of personality and world-class ability.
He returned at 10 against Russia in the next game, played there against Samoa too, and was part of the Irish side that exited the World Cup meekly in a heavy quarter-final defeat to New Zealand. Like the entire Irish team, Sexton was nowhere near his best that day.
So as Sexton looked around at the crowd in Tours the other day, a week out from Ireland’s opener against Romania, he could have been thinking that he’s due a much happier World Cup. He’s experienced enough to know that it’s impossible to predict what lies ahead.
“Each one, I learned different things along the way and this will be another different World Cup,” he said.
“It’s probably why it’s hard to get them right, you know, very rarely do you have the same carryover of players’ experiences.
“But I think the advantage of having the coaches involved in the last one and Paulie [O'Connell] being there as a player, they know what works but the proof is in the pudding. When we get out and play, that will determine how good our prep has been. When we get the results, that will determine how good it’s been.
“So it’s all to do, it’s all in front of us.”
This is the last hurrah for Sexton. He will retire after this World Cup. Regardless of what happens in France, his career has been a great one. Sexton has a strong claim as the best Irish rugby player ever. Captaining Ireland to a World Cup triumph would surely settle that debate.
Sexton believes his team can do it. They’re reigning Grand Slam champions, won a series in New Zealand last year, and have beaten all of the other contenders over the past 24 months. Aside from the cruel injury to Cian Healy, they have all their main men in France.
“It gives us a little bit of confidence that you’ve got that body of work that you’ve built well over the last four years, but it was all to get us to this moment,” said Sexton.
“Those things will never get taken away from us, the wins in New Zealand, the Grand Slam, but it was always with the World Cup in mind. We’re here now and this is exactly where we want to be.
“We’ve obviously lost Cian but in terms of getting the rest of the squad here, we’ve done a great job and now it’s all to do.”
