AS THE SEASON approached, Jonathan Sexton was a patched-up version of the man who would become its protagonist.
An excellent Lions tour was behind him, but the physical reminders remained; his wrist in a splint and his ankle carried relatively gingerly after being transported home inside a protective boot.
He had gone to New Zealand after delivering, what was by his standards, a bafflingly poor performance as Leinster were unable to find a way to beat 14 Scarlets at the RDS. The splints and strapping were evidence of his raging against a supposed dying of the light. Yet, once back in the comfort of Leinster blue, he wasn’t ready to consider his point proven or stop pushing for more.
Many players would be content with the career arc laid out in the shape of three victorious Heineken Cup wins: a raw up-and-coming talent who held his nerve, a second half force-of-nature comeback when all looked lost in the Millennium and the complete professional dismissal of a rival in 2012
“But I feel hungry,” he said without a second’s hesitation on a hazy August afternoon when asked how weary he was ahead of the new campaign.
That hunger, the inimitable relentless drive, has always been a feature of Sexton’s game but it is something to behold when he clicks it in to gear. And the 32-year-old has barely touched the transmission since leading Leinster in their first European trip of the season.
In Glasgow, the tone was set by Leo Cullen’s pack as they viciously set about cutting off their opponent’s source. Behind them, Sexton became increasingly fired up the more the Warriors roughed him up off the ball.
A tight fractious game was tilted the visitors’ way with a flex from the out-half, a superb kick through the wind and into touch. Cian Healy forced his way to a second try and Sexton pumped his fists to the booing crowd as he turned after nailing a difficult conversion from the right.
Before the out-half’s return to an Ireland jersey, Joe Schmidt issued what in hindsight sounds like a challenge of sorts.
Certainly it was unusual for the head coach to put a question mark anywhere near his chief playmaker – the media and Sexton’s appetite for work usually mean Schmidt is more often rebutting such arguments – but in the course of presenting the case against players moving to France, Schmidt said:
“There’s one player who went to Racing 92 and was played for the first 12 games in the season, and I’m not sure he’s ever had the same resilience since then.”
Whether connected to that gauntlet or not, there were few complaints about Sexton or Ireland’s November series. Indeed, one gripe was that the wins over South Africa and Argentina were too one-sided – a hint of great days to come as Ireland shed the notion that you have to fall over the line to win – and Sexton’s fingerprints were all over the dominance.
Albeit in a season that could end with just 13 Leinster appearances thanks to careful management, the resilience question bubbled up only briefly. Sexton was back in action two weeks after failing a HIA early on against Exeter and there were concerns over a back issue before the Six Nations clash with Wales. Yet while his goal-kicking accuracy suffered, his all-round game – attacking from deep, a laser-guided to soft and subtle passes, smashed rucks and high inviting kicks continued to spark Ireland’s dynamite campaign.
If Sexton can cap this season with a win over his former club, a place where he gathered few happy on-field memories, then it will mark out his greatest season.
Either way, this year will forever hold his iconic defining moment. For where would Ireland’s Six Nations journey have drifted if not for Sexton’s influence during those nail-biting final 41 phases in Paris?
A drop-goal for the ages, unleashed moments after he dropped to the ground to treat himself for cramp, is a highlight well able to stand on its own. But it wouldn’t have done Sexton justice for that moment of clutch personified not to be part of something bigger, and he has made sure to build on whatever momentum was transferable from Ireland camp to Leinster.
Where some feared a post-Slam dip, Sexton has powered through, nudging along players who have never won a medal with Leinster, and his peers who have waited too long since the last.
As he works towards that goal, Sexton has openly laid his own faults bare. The crankiness emanating from the 10 channel is a common refrain for team-mates and Sexton can only give a half smile, half wince when the subject comes up. Perhaps his personal critiques are an attempt to balance the barbs.
“Look, it is something I am working on.” Sexton said in October, “like, you work on your leadership, how you can deal with people better, it is definitely something that you need to do.
“The older you get the more you need to be making sure you can be that kind of player who can drive things. You have to do it slightly differently when you are older. But yeah there is definitely something in me that I have to calm down a bit. I’d rather be that than be a person that needs a kick up the ass every morning. It’s about finding the balance really.”
With nary a bruise to nurse as he leads his team as favourites into a Champions Cup final it seems he has found the sweet spot while seeking that balance.
Victory in Bilbao would represent more than just a remarkable 100% Champions Cup campaign for Leinster or the extension of Sexton’s personal unbeaten run of 19 games (dating back the the first Lions Test when Sexton played 24 minutes off the bench) and far more than Sexton getting one over on former employers.
His three previous Heineken Cup wins came in seasons when international honours eluded him.
A fourth, on top of a Grand Slam, would be a deserved crowning glory for a man at the peak of his powers.
