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The training ground moment that sidelined Ireland's Johnny Sexton

(Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Andy Farrell has explained how veteran Johnny Sexton promptly withdrew himself from Ireland training on Wednesday as soon as he felt the hamstring twinge that has ruled him out of this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match in Paris against France. The hope now is that this quick reaction by the skipper will ensure he will be back available for the closing rounds of the tournament in March, but the round three game versus Italy on February 27 might be a stretch for the 36-year-old.      

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There were no issues in the early part of the Ireland session at Carton House on Maynooth on Wednesday when photographers and TV cameras were present. However, Sexton pulled up when the session continued behind closed doors and the injury has resulted in the promotion of Joey Carbery to the No10 jersey with Jack Carty providing cover on the bench. 

Asked on Thursday how Sexton had picked up the training ground injury, whether it was while running or kicking, Farrell said: “It’s just training, he was doing a bit of everything so had an awareness and he pulled out of training before anything serious happened.

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“It’s a small hamstring strain that is definitely going to keep him out for this weekend but we don’t envisage it being difficult at all. He might be a week to ten days but what we don’t want to do is risk anything and make that worse and take him out of the competition completely. We expect him to be back pretty soon.”

Sexton’s unavailability in previous times was something that had damaged Ireland’s prospects at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups where he missed key games through injury and the back-up wasn’t of sufficient quality. 

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However, this week’s dramatic development can now be seen as potentially creating the ideal testing ground for the promoted Carbery to show he is now ready to take on the mantle of being a No10 Test level starter 19 months out from the start of the 2023 World Cup in France. Although previously capped on 28 occasions by Ireland, the 26-year-old has only ever made nine starts and none of those came in the Six Nations.

Farrell, though, outlined his reasons why Ireland should still be confident playing away to France without Sexton as their No10. “Because we are a group. It’s not just about one player, it never has been or will be and we want to grow as a group and we will make sure we approach every game in that manner anyway. 

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“It is what it is and that is the sport that we love, there are always twists and turns within a Six Nations competition. It’s a long old competition, it spans over eight weeks for us so there is always going to be things that we have to deal with. 

“Johnny is an important member of our group being skipper of the side, he is integral to how we push forward with many parts of our environment but at the same time, this is just about the group. 

“Johnny will travel with us and will be as leading as he possibly can be but this is about the group. It is a great development for us as a team going forward as well and we still expect ourselves to be at our best in Paris on Saturday.”

Carbery’s promotion for the injury-hit Sexton was the only change Farrell made to the starting XV that defeated Wales 29-7 last Saturday as the coach resisted the temptation to include fit-again duo Robbie Henshaw and Iain Henderson from the start at the Stade de France. He  instead named them on the bench in place of Ryan Baird and James Hume.  

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“The side played pretty well last week, there is a bit of cohesion there. Robbie and Hendy have not had as much training time as others have had. Now they are fit and well and had a great week back in the thick of things. They are ready to add off the bench.”

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Oh no, not him again? 1 hour ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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