BRUTAL HONESTY HAS always been Johnny Sexton’s nature, so when he speaks it’s always with a certain level of substance; his opinions carry weight.
Exactly a year ago, Sexton fronted up to the media two days after Leinster suffered a heavy interpro defeat to Ulster and offered an honest assessment of where the province stood.
“There’s plenty of stuff that can’t be fixed over a week, can’t be fixed over a few weeks — things wrong with the environment that need a long time to fix so we know that and we’re working towards that,” he said last May.
“I haven’t been here for the last two years so I can only speak about this season and the time before but I spoke last week about trying to get back to the level we were at and I still think we can get there but we’re a long way off.”
It was a forthright appraisal but also one which suggested the senior players, the likes of Sexton who had been around during those bygone glory days under Michael Cheika and then Joe Schmidt, would drive for betterment across the board.
A Pro12 final offered Leo Cullen’s men the chance to accelerate the process by ending an up-and-down season with a piece of silverware, but if anything the deficiencies were further exposed in Edinburgh.
This year has been an entirely different story, a progressive and hugely encouraging season during which the winning mentality has returned and the province playing an exciting brand of rugby.
Yesterday, two days after Leinster’s most disappointing defeat of the term as they bowed out of the Champions Cup at the semi-final stage, Sexton fronted up to the media again.
The Ireland international was naturally upset by the result in Lyon, and the manner in which Leinster gave Clermont a 15-point head start, but was very positive in his outlook for a young squad who will take learnings from their campaign.
“Anytime you lose a semi-final it feels like it got away,” he said.
“You can’t give a team like Clermont any type of lead and to give them 15 points was disappointing. Looking back on the video I don’t think we defended poorly, I just think we made some system and individual areas and they capitalised on that.
“There are plenty of learnings for us. We gave a good account of ourselves but if we were good enough we would have won the game. There are still areas we need to improve.”
When asked if that result could prove to be a defining one for this team, Sexton added: “I think so yeah, it could be a game in a few years time after we’ve had a bit of success that we look back on as the game that turned our fortunes as such.
“Coming into the game, we thought the Pro12 final last year may have been that game so it’s hard to know. Only time will tell and we’ve got to keep building year on year.
“Even the small margins, having someone like Cian Healy unavailable; I couldn’t believe he got banned and losing a player of that calibre and Seanie [O'Brien] not getting back, they’re all the small margins you’re dealing with at this stage of the season and if we get all our players back and fit, not to mention Jamie [Heaslip], Rob [Kearney], all these guys, it would make a difference in games like that so I don’t think we’re too far away.”
It’s a contrasting assessment to that of 12 months ago but serves to highlight the significant improvement in Leinster’s performances and indeed results throughout a season which saw them return to the last four of the Champions Cup.
Cullen and his coaching team must take huge credit for the change in fortunes and indeed the style of play with the province embarking on an impressive 12-game unbeaten run before Sunday’s reversal at the Stade de Gerland.
With a home Guinness Pro12 semi-final already assured, Leinster will be looking to go one step further in 2017 and win their first league crown in three seasons and fifth overall when the silverware is handed out at the Aviva Stadium in May.
But Sexton insists they don’t need to lift the Pro12 trophy at the end of next month to validate the assessment that this has been a good season for the province, pointing to the performances as a better indicator of the upward trajectory they’ve been on.
“The results don’t show the improvements we know we made,” he continues. “We don’t need to win something to show that but we want to win something because we’re desperate for success. We have come along way in a year, that’s pretty obvious and that’s for a few reasons.
“I think the progress is pretty obvious for everyone to see, we don’t need a trophy to show that but we want a trophy for ourselves to reward the effort we’ve put in every single day on the training pitch, the sessions you guys don’t see, you judge us on a Saturday, the amount of effort that goes in and we want to reward ourselves with a trophy for that.
“And reward the supporters for all the support they show us and for everyone who has put in the hard work throughout the year.”
Sexton and Leinster certainly won’t get ahead of themselves and the primary focus is now on Friday’s Pro12 assignment against Glasgow Warriors as Cullen’s men look to get back to winning ways.
The 31-year-old says it’s important, even with a home semi-final secured and a number of players set to be rested this weekend, for Leinster to build up a head of steam heading into the play-offs.
“We need to get back on the winning trail now. The goal is to win four games in a row and everyone’s focused on that.”
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I trust Joe. He is at the centre of everything. He is also the best and really knows best.
One of the beauties of having Joe Schmidt as head coach – the first world class head coach, with the exception of Warren Gatland, that Ireland has ever had – is that he has created a system in which every player in the squad can slot into seamlessly. Everybody knows their role and what is expected. Unlike previous Irish head coaches, such as embittered ones currently employed by RTE, Joe Schmidt can see the bigger picture in the World Cup: he doesn’t panic and send out old reliables, who are not fully fit, in the first match. Joe Schmidt’s dispassionate and beautifully professional approach is what has seen Ireland enter the Rugby World Cup as the Number One ranked team in the world, an incredible achievement which shows Joe Schmidt’s ability, unique among Irish head coaches, of getting Ireland ready to peak at the right time.
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland’s confident, back-to-back defeats of Wales in the RWC warm-ups were not only important for proving which team had the greater strength in depth, but were timely in the event of a potential meeting with Wales in the World Cup semi-finals. Those results proved, yet again, lest any of the doubters and begrudgers had any doubts, Joe Schmidt’s permanent class. Schmidt and his team have given Irish supporters a sweet gift in the run-in to the RWC: the great pleasure of clicking on the World Rugby website and seeing Ireland ranked on top of the world, even before we go on to lift the Webb Ellis trophy!
@J. Reid:
We are not number 1 in the world :: NZ ::: S A :: England ::Ireland/Wales
But it will be nice to look back at the numbers in 5 years’ time to see we were No. 1 in the world in September 2019 (the number will still be there and the memory will have slipped )
@J. Reid: Stan
@Martin Quinn: Why do you constantly use colons in your posts? It’s really odd.
Our pack is superior, but the backrow battle will be immense, need to nullify Barclay & Watson.
Fingers crossed our lineout functions properly.
Looking forward to seeing Conway & Larmour, hope their eagerness to impress doesn’t lead to any brain farts though. Conway is fearless contesting the high ball, but sometimes mistimes & takes the jumper out in the air. We can’t afford to be down to 14 men.
Seems pretty silly to have Carty come off the bench with McGrath, when Marmion, Carty and Aki have a telepathy between them and would be playing at the same time. Anyhow, hope McGrath has a stormer and makes me eat my words with regards him being picked ahead of Marms.
@Joe Vlogs: Well he couldn’t come off the bench with Marmion as he’s not in the squad. If Joe sees McGrath as the better option for whatever reason, be it he thinks he’s a better player or Marmion hasn’t been fully fit, it would have made little sense to bring a scrum half to the world cup that he didn’t fancy just because he’s bringing his club mate as what will most likely be 3rd choice fly half as the tournament progresses.
@Joe Vlogs: or maybe McGrath has the same with sexton Ross Byrne , henshaw, larmour Kearney etc. it’s Ireland playing not a bunch of mates who play down the road
I trust Joe. He is at the centre of everything and, with his intimate knowledge of everything rugby and his excellant judgement, seldom if ever lets us down.
Looks like he throwing the first match
@Colm: how do you figure that
Conway should be playing full back.
front row will put pressure on Scots.
overall pack will dominate Scotland.
must stop Hogg on gain line.
Hopefully Stockdale won’t jump out of the line
@john fleming: I disagree, he’s great in the air but runs the ball back which is great but too frequently gets turned over…unlike Kearney and to a lesser extent unlike Larmour. Ball presentation is key in that position with little room for error. He had a great game against Wales but did see him turnover ball twice against Wales
Realistically I think we all expected this starting 15. Some might have put Conway at 15 and Larmour on the wing, I would have too, but it’s obvious that Joe sees Larmour as a better option there than Conway. Because of injuries the backs pretty much picked themselves. He’s also gone with the tried and tested in the backrow. In the absence of Toner I think it’s fair to say that POM will start all the big games when fit for his lineout prowess. Leaving Stander and Conan to fight it out for number 8. Only real surprise might be Scannel on the bench instead of Cronin but Scannel is a good player and is my bet for the starting hooker come the 6 nations. Looking at both teams and not permitting for weird weather I think Ireland will have too much for Scotland. Ireland by 10
I probably would of preferred Conway at fullback but to be fair, larmour has been our back up fullback to Kearney and it would of been a slap in the face to larmour if he didn’t start him there. It’s a very potent back 3 but I just have a small fear of that 3 defensively but coybig!!!!
Wales/England would look to exploit recent aerial form and set piece worries, but don’t think the Scots like playing tactics, they wont switch up their formula and will just hope Russell doesn’t have a howler. Cracker of a game hopefully.
With Kearney fully fit I would expect a 7-12 point win but without him it will be a nailbiter. Can see Laidlaw and Russell sending deep box kicks and garryowens for Hogg, Maitland and Seymour to test Larmour all day.