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Ireland skipper Sexton 'ahead of schedule' in recovery from knee injury

By Online Editors

22 Jan 2020

(Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from injury and expects to be fit for the Guinness Six Nations opener against Scotland.

Fly-half Sexton, who has won 88 caps for his country, has not played since suffering a knee problem playing for Leinster in early December.

“Everything’s been going to plan, so hopefully I can take part in training tomorrow,” he said.

“If anything, a little bit ahead of schedule.”

Continue reading below…

WATCH: Andy Goode and Brendan Venter didn’t hold back on this weeks pod as they discussed Saracens and the salary cap scandal.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell believes England head coach Eddie Jones will use Saracens’ Gallagher Premiership relegation to galvanise the losing World Cup finalists.

Farrell’s son Owen captains England and is one of seven Sarries players in Jones’ squad for the Six Nations.

“As far as players are concerned, they have lots of ups and downs to deal with,” said the senior Farrell.

“When you make the change into another environment, I think that’s really refreshing.

“I see Eddie using it to galvanise England.”

“I have not got an opinion because you understand as a parent it is sensitive anyway. There is a lot of questions still to be asked and answered you know so, I don’t think they have got all the facts together yet of what that future looks like. I am sure that will come out in the not too distant future. I suppose I will have an opinion then.”

Ireland squad:

IRELAND’S 2020 Six Nations Squad

Forwards (19)

Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster) 0 caps

Caelan Doris (UCD/Leinster) 0 caps

Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht) 14 caps

Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 41 caps

Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 95 caps

Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) 1 cap

Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) 53 caps

Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 8 caps

Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) 0 caps

Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 36 caps

Jack McGrath (St Mary’s College/Ulster) 56 caps

Jack O’Donoghue (UL Bohemians/Munster) 2 caps

Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 64 caps

Tom O’Toole (Banbridge/Ulster) 0 caps

Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 38 caps

Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 67 caps

Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 23 caps

Backs (16)

Will Addison (Enniskillen/Ulster) 4 caps

Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 23 caps

Billy Burns (Ulster) 0 caps

Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 3 caps

Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 18 caps

John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster) 8 caps

Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 82 caps

Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 9 caps

Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 40 caps

Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster) 19 caps

Jordan Larmour (St Mary’s College/Leinster) 21 caps

Stuart McCloskey (Dungannon/Ulster) 3 caps

Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 19 caps

Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 78 caps

Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 28 caps

Jonathan Sexton (St Marys College/Leinster) 88 caps CAPTAIN

Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster) 25 caps

Development Players

Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)

Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster)

Harry Byrne (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)

Tags: Ireland Sexton

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Comments on RugbyPass

Utiku Old Boy 12 minutes ago

Former All Blacks grade the 2024 campaign

Agree with Wilson B- at best. And that is down to skilled individual players who know how to play the game - not a cohesive squad who know their roles and game plan. For those who claim that takes time to develop, the process is to keep the game plan simple at first and add layers as the squad gels and settles in to the new systems. Lack of progress against the rush D, lack of penetration and innovation in the mid-field, basic skill errors and loose forwards coming second in most big games all still evident in game 14 of the season. Hard to see significant measureable progress.

1 Go to comments

Utiku Old Boy 24 minutes ago

'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

Keep telling yourself that. The time for a fresh broom is at the beginning - not some "balanced, incremental" (i.e. status quo) transition. All teams establish the way forward at the beginning. This coaching group lacked ideas and courage and the players showed it on the pitch. Backs are only average. Forwards are unbalanced and show good set piece but no domination in traditional AB open play. Unfortunately, Foster - Mark 2. You may be happy with those performances and have some belief in some "cunning plan" but I don't see any evidence of it. Rassie is miles ahead and increasing the gap.

14 Go to comments

Cantab 25 minutes ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

NZ were not great and allowed themselves to be bustled by the opposition. Some traditional forward drives and grubbers behind the advancing rush defenders may well have paid dividends in creating more space for the fancy moves. Our midfield backs rarely made an impression once again

18 Go to comments

SadersMan 25 minutes ago

'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

I saw a stupid statistic trotted out on Sky Sport comparing the win % of the last 4 ABs coaches first 14 tests. Fair enough I thought.

Ted & Shag were both about 85% I think, Foster at 78% & Razor at 71%. The implication was, of course, that Razor hadn't done as well as the others.

A closer look though shows Foster's first 14 tests were v AUS (7) ARG (4) FIJ (2) & TON (1). There was no explanation about this, despite the obvious discrepancy rendering the "statistics" completely useless. Not good enough.

14 Go to comments

JWH 25 minutes ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

DMac didn't do anything to deserve a 6, but the ABs did look better when he came on. I don't think BB is the right man for the job, neither is DMac (too small), but DMac seems to be playing to Razor's gameplan more than Baz

18 Go to comments

Lisa Decker 28 minutes ago

‘Right a few wrongs’: Ex-Wales flyer’s message of intent with Crusaders

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12 Go to comments

Lisa Decker 29 minutes ago

‘Right a few wrongs’: Ex-Wales flyer’s message of intent with Crusaders

12 Go to comments

SadersMan 44 minutes ago

‘Right a few wrongs’: Ex-Wales flyer’s message of intent with Crusaders

Even with absences we still had the cattle to make the playoffs. As it was, we nearly stumbled our way into the top 8. Which shows just how easy it was to get there. And still we failed. As for Razor, there are many instances of him patching up the Crusaders roster. Numerous. Several players I'd never heard of. Also, using AB legend John Afoa was a classic.

But, some of the games we were losing were from schoolboy errors, or downright confusion. Either the players were really dumb (they weren’t) or they were poorly coached. Given the repetitive nature of errors, brain fades, poor decision making, & loose structures, this all lands with the coaching group.

With only six playoff spots now in SR, & Aussie franchises now consolidated to four, 2025 looks like a tight one. I'm picking we'll have to tough it out under Penney & hope for the best.

12 Go to comments

SadersMan 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Agree we need a 10, 12, 13 refresh. ASAP. Well, next season now lol. Reiko should be put back on the wing. He'll be an absolute menace there. Imagine 11 Reiko 14 Clarke 15 Jordan as the backfield unit.

18 Go to comments

SadersMan 1 hour ago

'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

It took a whole season to wash the Foster stink out to be fair. There's still been substantial change though. I think only 7 starters from the RWC QF v IRE started the IRE test in Dublin. This year wasn't the year for full innovation, transition needs to be balanced, & incremental. The new coaches will be able to stamp their full mark on the ABs from 2025 when Razor will select his first proper squad from a mega talented player pool. Exciting times ahead.

14 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

What on earth is Tele'a doing passing the ball away so quickly on his line break, like a fatty making a bust and trying to find a winger to give the ball to lol

The amount of inconsistency with the head contact law coming into the game. No red yesterday and no yellow today, but then another player gets a suspension for a side on headonhead (as apposed to these two sweet shoulders) contact last week. Happy if there is a referee change to having a bit more commensense.

18 Go to comments

SadersMan 1 hour ago

'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

I think media & fans weren't reading the room tbh. The RWC23 thrashing was referenced more than once which to me was irrelevant. Italy's 6N 2024 campaign was the marker for me.

And I expected ITA to play exactly how they did. Make the game messy, high physicality, stop-start, & ride the crowd. I didn't see any jaded players, you just need to see how strong our D was. A temperature of zero degrees & a slippery ball certainly didn't help.

14 Go to comments

SO 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

BB a 9'5 you have to be kidding. No way was he that good you seem to have the same hero worship of BB that the coaches have with him. Rieko to the wing or out altogether he is actually a real hand brake to this team.

18 Go to comments

SadersMan 1 hour ago

'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

A 20pt messy win is about what I expected. Lots of media & fans not reading the room imo. I think the Azzuri were hoping to ambush a 2nd string ABs & may well have done so. Eking out an ugly win is definitely a sign of growth. 2025 looks exciting.

Also, AUS has only beaten ENG of note. They need to show up v SCO & IRE to get a proper gauge. Beating WAL three times doesn't count. Also, winning one test from six in TRC is useless. So TRC2025 will be the real litmus test for AUS. That said, I'm rooting for our SH brothers for the next two tests.

14 Go to comments

JW 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Actually pretty happy with the 1st half performance, quality contest imo.

Roigard very good, lots of jobs being done well. Only real opinion is that the game changed when BB stopped kicking and when he ran, after about the 30min mark, he started passing at the line instead of two steps before it. This gave the runners (this team doesn't really have other playmakers outside him) just that tiny bit more space and I think they must have made 3 late breaks solely because (compared to all the previous good ball) Barrett drew a defender or two.

So wondering about the send given they must only add another try or two when you'd normally expect them to push out further?

18 Go to comments

BM 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

THINK SO TOO!🙃

18 Go to comments

BM 1 hour ago

All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Only on for Caleb and needed to push Will over LOL as an after-thought

18 Go to comments

GP 1 hour ago

‘Right a few wrongs’: Ex-Wales flyer’s message of intent with Crusaders