IT WAS ALWAYS likely that Johnny Sexton would attract the limelight as he made his first start of the season for Leinster on Saturday against the Sharks.
The 37-year-old Leinster and Ireland captain was excellent in his province’s number 10 jersey, but his interactions with referee Craig Evans grabbed as much attention as his passing and kicking.
Those ref chats were discussed on today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra - a podcast available to members of The42 every Monday and Wednesday – as host Gavan Casey was joined by Murray Kinsella and ex-Leinster and Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman.
While agreeing that Sexton could have been a little more respectful, Kinsella felt that there had been an overreaction to the Leinster captain’s interactions with Evans.
“In this game, I think it’s being completely overplayed if I’m being really honest with you,” said The42 rugby writer Kinsella.
“He’s in the game, he’s obviously a really competitive guy and he’s obviously fired up but the ones where he challenges Craig Evans, I think he’s absolutely entitled to challenge.
“In the Ryan Baird instance, he has seen his player landing onto his head and neck from a player who has not taken off and jumped off the ground. That’s what the referee is telling Sexton, that they both got up and competed, which wasn’t actually true. Sexton is trying to forcefully argue his case and apply pressure like a captain should.
“The other one is the red card, where there were two high tackles in a row. I don’t see how any captain wouldn’t be really pissed off in those circumstances. Sexton actually runs in and you don’t want to always be milling in on things, but if I was on that team, I’d like to see my captain having my back and not accepting a player making two high tackles in one passage of play.
“Yeah, I think he can probably be a little more respectful to Craig Evans there and just treat him with a little more calm potentially. But I think he’s justified in those circumstances to try and push him and try to get the right decision.
“It didn’t happen for Sexton in the Baird instance, the match officials felt Abrahams was going for the ball and I can see it from the referee’s point of view, but it was a really dangerous landing and we’ve seen in the past that it’s the duty of care and whether or not the player on the ground is aware of the guy in the air. On the red card, he’s right to go and push that.
“That aside, I don’t think there was too much else to it. Two flashpoints, maybe a third and his demeanour is a little bit aggressive but I personally think it has been overplayed and I think Sexton has worked really hard on that side of his game and improved it.”
As for Sexton’s individual performance, Casey suggested to Jackman that Sexton may actually be a better player right now than a couple of years ago.
Former Grenoble and Dragons head coach Jackman was full of praise for Sexton’s display as Leinster battled their way through a challenging clash with the Sharks.
“He is like Kevin de Bruyne in terms of being able to pull the right pass,” said Jackman.
“It’s all really easy stuff, it looks really easy because he stays attached out the back of a pod and most of the passes he plays are simple passes, but yet you don’t see any other 10 being able to do it so regularly. The timing of it is phenomenal.
“Also, he’s probably one of the few players where when he seems to be rattled, it doesn’t seem to affect his game and maybe even makes him better. It has zero effect, him getting angsty with the referee or opposition, on his next play.
“If you’re the South Africans now, I think plenty of the fans were fired up with him and probably the Sharks players as well found him very annoying, so if he goes down to South Africa this year, they will try to upset him. There will be late tackles and verbals, etc. but I actually don’t think that will have an impact on his game.
“Leinster got themselves into a muddle against the Sharks and there probably would have been a temptation to play him for 60 minutes but they had a lot of injuries, he went 80 and it was nearly flawless. If Johnny had gone off at 55, the way the game was going, I would have thought Leinster could lose. That’s not a criticism of Ross Byrne because I rate him.
“But I loved the fact it was a battle. I never felt Leinster were going to lose with Johnny on the pitch. They have obviously lost games with him on the pitch before but with the Sharks missing five Boks, he was a level above. It’s testament to his drive that he’s able to come in for his first start and be absolutely brilliant.”
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I was thinking the same yesterday. Can you imagine a player like Aidan O’Shea was left on the bench for a whole game. There would be a mutiny the day after their championship campaign ended.
@Ned Flanders: cheap shot. O’Shea showed he is the ultimate team player by switching to a totally new position over the last 2 games to help the team get over the line. I guess haters are always gonna hate though
@Pepper Brooks: ultimate team player? That particular tactic nearly blew up in mayos face. In the replay he was soloing around his 21 half way through second half and trying 40 yard outside of boot passes that ran out over the line. If kerry hadnt panicked and had taken points earlier rather than going for goals when 7 down it could have been a very different
@Pepper Brooks: O’Shea wouldn’t make the Dublin bench.
Juniors maybe
@johnnyA the game is also about opinions,for you it’s bitter and twisted against Dublin,while us Dublin fan’s are enjoying every minute of this great Team,so happy days for us Ha Ha ha
@alan dodrill: *fans
It’s a great achievement to show humility when you’re strolling through the championship. Fair play to the Dublin/AIG players for being such good winners. If Gavin exerts such control he must endorse or at least turn a blind eye to the playacting. Cooper at it again yesterday. McCarthy and McCaffrey at it the last day – good footballers but while their fans have brought the worst aspects of UK terrace culture to Gaelic Games the players have brought Neymar type playacting into our national sport. Great lads all the same.
@Johnny A: Why not just enjoy the football instead of always having a bitch , life is too short
@Tony Talbot: the football championship used to mean something. Now it’s completely hollow. Very few meaningful contests – certainly none when Dublin/AIG are involved. Instead of mitigating their natural advantages – population, money, home advantage – the GAA have bolstered these and set them in stone. Teams like Tyrone and Monaghan now come up to Croker with ridiculous defensive systems just to keep the score down. The GAA have to look at the population and reconsider a split – for example Dublin North/AIG & Dublin South/HSBC. There should be an equalisation process with the corporate loot – they should be allowed keep 20-30% with the rest being redistributed. And they should be kept out of Croker a lot more – why not make them play an away semi final for example. I’ll enjoy it then.
@Johnny A: have to hand it to you mate you have bitterness to a new level. Short memories like most non dubs. This golden era has more to do wirh jim gavin than anything else.Maybe he should only be allowed manage smaller counties?
@Johnny A: explain 1995 – 2011??
If you split Dublin now you’d risk an all Dublin All Ireland final and that would be worse! Did you see the bench. Dublin A Vs Dublin B would be some game!
Other counties need to stop making excuses… Kerry has the same population as Wicklow as is the most successful football county by far
Also, let’s split Kilkenny into North & South and actually while we’re at what about the most successful football county, Kerry…well over due a split!!
@Brendan Farrell: if you think a 2 way split isn’t enough and they’d still be too strong then a 4 way split would be ideal. Could be 4 Dublin zones – AIG1, AIG2, AIG3, AIG4. Have their own provincial championship. The metropolitan cup or something like that.
@paddy: I wouldn’t call it bitterness – more like constructive hate.