Johnny Sexton is like a current day Jonny Wilkinson, claims Ireland attack coach Mike Catt.
Sexton, 37, ends his Six Nations account tomorrow with the championship finale against England at the Aviva Stadium.
Having won a World Cup with Wilkinson for England and coached Sexton at Test level in more recent times, Catt sees big similarities between the two iconic out-halves.
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"Yeah, they're both obsessive," he said. "They're just completely different mental animals.
"They're so in the moment, they're so in the game. Everything means a hell of a lot. They're deep thinkers of the game and it's bringing that freedom out of them so they can go and perform, that's the crucial thing.
"But how they make people feel around them is what they're very, very good at as well. When you stand next to a Jonny Wilkinson or a Johnny Sexton, inside or outside of him, you feel pretty special and makes people around him feel good too.
"There are a lot of comparisons in there but ultimately you've got to deliver on the hype on the big stage and both Johnny's did that. Let's see what Johnny can do tomorrow."
Asked for his assessment of Sexton's Six Nations record - he is poised to become the tournament's top scorer tomorrow, having joined Ronan O'Gara on 557 points last weekend - Catt took a deep breath before answering.
"Where do you start? How long have we got? Johnny is Johnny, he's hopefully going to be the record points scorer tomorrow in terms of points scored in a Six Nations. He's taking over from ROG, Ronan O'Gara," said Catt.
"His presence and the way he teaches people and people get to understand why he's as good as he is through his excellence and his drive to become excellent and be bloody-minded and hard-headed in terms of playing to his potential, chasing his potential every single session.
"Players have really thrived on the back of that and and learned a lot from Johnny on the back of that. What it means for him to play for his country is huge, he epitomises the whole thing.
"So he's a great leader, he's got an amazing knowledge of the game.
"The thing with Johnny is, he is one step ahead of a game and his thought process is exceptionally quick in terms of where the next play is going.
"He has a real knack of understanding how we want to play the game obviously but then him being able to see it and the authority he drives round the team you can't but listen to him which is huge.
"One of the biggest things is he is one step ahead of the game which makes it so much easier for him and players around him to get on top of things.
"Working with Johnny, you can let him go and he can run the show. It's just making sure he puts in the best performance tomorrow because that's what it's all about.
"It's not about Johnny and his last game or last captain's run. It's about the performance of the team which is crucial for us tomorrow."
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