SITTING AT THE top table of a packed media room at Monday’s Six Nations launch event in London, Johnny Sexton was asked if this Six Nations carries extra emotion for him given it is set to be his last in an Ireland jersey.
“Is it?” interjected his head coach Andy Farrell, a playful suggestion that his long-serving captain may have more left in the tank.
Sexton was able to crack a smile himself as he prepares to step into what he hopes will be a fairytale ending to his Ireland career.
He won’t get see how that chapter unfolds until the World Cup rolls around but for now, a first Six Nations title since 2018 is a decent marker for this Irish team to target as they look to build on a brilliant 2022.
Now 37, Sexton made his bow in this competition all the way back in 2010. He’s won it three times but even after all these years, the fire burns as intensely as ever.
“The older you get as well the more selfish you are,” said Sexton, who confirmed he will be fit for Ireland’s opening game away to Wales on 4 February.
“You want to make the most of every opportunity and it’s such a special tournament. It’s so hard to win. You talk about how many titles Ireland have in the last 20 or 30 years, there’s not too many.
“It’s a special thing that you can achieve something in the tournament and not talking about the World Cup at all. We won’t even be talking about France, we’ll be talking about Wales for the next two weeks, and how we can get ourselves in the best shape possible. But 100% we’ll be doing all we can to win this tournament.”
It’s hard not to look at Ireland’s current form chart and think back to 2019, a similar starting point which saw Joe Schmidt’s high-flying side crash and burn in Japan – Ireland finished third in that year’s Six Nations.
“I think it’s important, if you talk about 2019, to keep the momentum going, to prove that we can do something in the World Cup, we need to go and do something in the Six Nations as well,” Sexton continued.
“We just need to realise why that happened (in 2019), and take some of the experiences. It’s a very different group, but it’s important that we keep our standards high. We had some good results in November but the performances probably weren’t as high as in the summer.
“We need to delve deeper and even if we’re winning we need to keep learning lessons. That’s certainly what we’ve always done, and will continue to do. But we need to keep the momentum going.
“It’s a very different group so we can’t think too much about four years ago.”
Hugo Keenan, Caelan Doris, James Lowe, Mack Hansen and Jamison Gibson-Park are just some of the key men involved now who weren’t around in 2019.
Sexton remains as important as ever while others from the 2019 vintage have seen time catch up with them, or simply fallen out of a favour.
Last week’s squad announcement revealed Joey Carbery as a high profile early-season casualty, the Munster out-half overlooked as Andy Farrell opted for an out-half trio of Sexton, Ross Byrne and Jack Crowley.
For Carbery, it was the latest reminder of how brutal professional sport can be.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet,” Sexton admitted.
“I know what Joey is going through. You go through all these emotions throughout your career. I’ve been dropped many times, and not picked many times, and it’s part and parcel of the game.
“How you bounce back from it is the true sign of a character and a player, and I’m sure he will bounce back. He’ll have plenty of opportunities going forward to get back in. He’s a good guy and a great player, so I wish him all the best.”
For Sexton and Ireland, the show rolls on.
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