JOHNNY SEXTON HAS confirmed he is fit to lead Ireland in Murrayfield on Sunday as Andy Farrell’s side look to take one step closer to a first Grand Slam since 2018.
Ireland make the trip to play Scotland this weekend and will now be boosted by the return of their captain, with Sexton having sat out the round three defeat of Italy with a groin injury.
Speaking to the media in Abbotstown today, Sexton confirmed he is fully fit and available for round four clash in Edinburgh.
“Yeah, all good. I trained last week in the Aviva against the U20s and then trained all this week so yeah, good to go.”
Ireland head to Edinburgh in pole position to claim a potential Grand Slam, but the hosts also have their sights set on silverware. A win against Ireland would see Gregor Townsend’s side land a first Triple Crown since 1990 and keep them in the mix for a first Six Nations success since 1999.
“It’s something that we’re going to have to acknowledge because it’s going to make for a very special atmosphere over there I’m sure,” Sexton continued.
“It always is a very special atmosphere even if there was nothing on the line. But it’s a huge game now with them going for a Triple Crown and still in the championship, and us obviously in the championship and obviously wanting to try and win a Triple Crown ourselves.”
Sexton’s message to the squad this week has been centered around embracing the pressure that comes with leading the Six Nations table.
Every team comes into this competition wanting to win a Grand Slam, wanting to win a championship and that’s why it’s so important to get off to a good start because it keeps everything alive.
“I spoke before the Wales game, if we lost it’s Triple Crown gone, Grand Slam gone, championship, you’re under pressure straight away.
“Every team goes in with those aspirations. We still have them in our grasp so we obviously acknowledge and talk about it and make sure that we deal with the pressure that comes with that but it’s a privileged position to be going for it.
“We don’t consider ourselves favourites (against Scotland). We don’t even talk about that. We think it’s going to be an incredibly tough game.
“They’re probably the best Scottish team, maybe not of all time because there are Scottish teams that have gone on to win championships and stuff, but definitely the best Scottish team we’ve played against. Probably since the Six Nations started, it’s the best Scottish team. It will be a really, really tough game and it will probably be our toughest of the championship so far.”
Sexton also stated he has had no conversations with Leo Cullen about stepping into a new role as the Leinster boss looks to rejig his coaching team this summer.
The out-half explained that he intends to start a new career in business when he retires after the World Cup, but didn’t rule out a potential move into coaching further down the line.
“I would never say never because again, you never know what life is going to throw at you,” Sexton said.
“It’s not in my plans straight away. I don’t think it would be right straight away if offers did come in, it wouldn’t be right for me to go in and coach with guys that I’ve played with for the last number of years, and I certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardise this year because if they (teammates) find out you’re going in coaching, the relationship changes straight away.
No, I won’t be doing it for the foreseeable future anyway. But rugby is my passion. It’s all I’ve known for the last 20 years, longer even, since I was a kid. I’ll find it hard to step away from the game but I think it’s important to do it, to step away, try another walk of life and then we’ll see what happens.
“Go and see if I can do something in the business world and get involved there. I’ve been doing a bit of work experience over the last two years, one day a week, so I’ll go into that and see how that goes.”
Sexton joked this his retirement could even be shortlived.
“It might not be for me. I might get the itch straight away, come out of retirement and play for Mary’s.”
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