Johnny Sexton will leave rugby on his own terms. Ireland’s captain and metronomic fly-half has signed a contract that will see him retire after next year’s World Cup in France. By then he will be 38 but his desire to rectify his country’s poor record in the tournament is driving him on.
“I’m very grateful for the career I’ve had but you do look back and go: ‘We gave up chances at World Cups and didn’t perform at World Cups,’” said Sexton, who has represented Ireland at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions. “I want to put that right.
“I’m still very driven to get there and perform in a World Cup. I’ve spoken to a lot of guys that have finished in the game and they have big regrets over World Cups.”
Having played 103 Tests for Ireland and six for the British & Irish Lions across two tours, Sexton is conscious of the need to monitor his physical and mental well-being, while also maintaining a high standard on the pitch. He said the thought of missing out on a final World Cup haunted him, and he took heed from the examples of John Hayes and Gordon D’Arcy, two senior Irish players who were dropped before the 2011 and 2015 World Cups respectively.
“It’s up to me to keep my body in good shape,” he said, referencing the prolonged careers of Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Peter Stringer and New Zealand’s Richie McCaw as inspirations. “It’s not like I’m the first person to do it.”
Ireland have yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals from nine World Cups. Having lifted three Six Nations titles, including a grand slam, Sexton said the opportunity to propel his nation to a place it’s never been before is what motivated his decision.
“I can still contribute and I want to,” he said. “I’m still very hungry to stay in the international setup. I don’t want to go out with a whimper. I want to go out on top.”
That fairytale ending, though, is a blip on the horizon. Sexton said it was “strange talking about the next 18 months in the week of an England game”, suggesting he should have held back the news of his contract for a couple of weeks.
To England then, and a trip to Twickenham for Sexton’s 15th match against the Red Rose. He has won two of his five previous trips – 20-16 in his third Test in 2010 and again in 2018 when Ireland secured their grand slam with a 24-15 win. Sexton has kicked 36 of his 946 Test points at England’s home of rugby and he knows that every one of them were hard earned.
“It’s such a tough place to go to,” he said. “Think about how hard we are to beat at the Aviva. [Winning away from home] is such a hard thing to do in international rugby. We have to learn lessons from the French game [which Ireland lost 30-24 in Paris last month], put them into practice and get better.”
Eddie Jones has labelled Ireland as favourites but Sexton dismissed the England coach’s comments, calling them “irrelevant”. He said: “They’ve been talking us up a bit. We know why they’ve been doing that.”
Not to be outdone, Sexton was gushing in his praise of the opposition. He lauded their physicality and direct approach but reserved special praise for his opposite number.
“He’s got it all,” he said of Marcus Smith who was 10 when Sexton made his Test debut in 2009. “To win the Premiership, to get his first English cap, to go on a Lions tour. He’s ticking a lot of boxes already. He’s got the world at his feet, it’s how he keeps those feet on the ground. He’s shown all the tricks – short kicking game, good passing game, good running game. He’s going to be a big player over the next 10, 12 years for England.”
Reciprocal admiration has travelled in the opposite direction across the Irish Sea. Joe Marler said Sexton was “in the top three most competitive blokes” he had come across in rugby and the “standards he demands are astronomical”.
As much as anything else, it could be the fear of what comes next that keeps Sexton moving. “When I hang up the boots I’ll be like a lost puppy for the first while.” A World Cup winners’ medal would surely ease his anxiety.
