'I'd back him all day' - Henshaw sure Sexton will be firing in France

While the three-match dished out to the Ireland captain has deprived him of an Aviva Stadium send-off teammates are confident he'll be sharp at World Cup

LOCKED IN: Defence coach Simon Easterby and Jonathan Sexton get to work at the IRFU High Performance Centre, Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin. Pic:INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Ireland’s World Cup hopefuls would have us believe that confirmation of Johnny Sexton’s absence from all three warm-up games created little more than a ripple when the decision was announced after weeks of uncertainty.

As lines go, it stretches credulity.

The veteran out-half’s availability is crucial to Irish plans this next three months or so, but Jimmy O’Brien claimed to be completely unaware that judgement had been passed on his club and country colleague earlier this month.

“I came in (to training) and the lads said it,” O’Brien explained. “You're kind of in a bubble.” Ah yes, the famous ‘bubble’. Ireland have been claiming this form of insulation from any and every scrap of outside noise for some time now but the long-running saga over Sexton’s disciplinary fate was one that had to penetrate that inner sanctum.

That Sexton will miss the prep games against Italy, England and Samoa is far from ideal given an absence from the park that already stretches back to his curtailed input against England in late March when Andy Farrell’s side clinched the Grand Slam.

He is at least free to feature against Romania in the tournament opener now that he is over the groin injury that ruled him out of Leinster’s unsuccessful URC and Heineken Champions Cup bids – so long as he avoids further mishap in training or elsewhere.

“We knew it was going on in the background,” said Robbie Henshaw. “Nobody had an idea of what was going to come of it. I think everyone was on the same page. Luckily we had our hands full with training and meetings so it was always going on in the background.

“Thankfully, nobody got too distracted by it. It’s unfortunate that Johnny won’t be there for the home games in particular. That’s probably the most disappointing thing for him and for us.

“For him to play in the Aviva is a big thing but I suppose, looking at it, it’s great that we have him for the World Cup. I know he’ll work his backside off in the next few weeks to make sure he’s in top shape come round one.” 

Henshaw knows what it is to be behind the curveball at a World Cup given injuries meant he had to sit out the team’s first pool game against Canada in Cardiff in 2015 and again four years later when Ireland faced Scotland in Yokohama.

The former Connacht centre does at least have a history of hitting the ground running when he returns from injuries. Other players find they need a game or two to get the body in gear again and Sexton has managed to find his feet in the past after longish absences.

This is different, though. He turned 38 a couple of weeks ago and any ideas of lightening his workload at the tournament itself have been shredded by the suspension and a schedule that has the South Africa and Scotland games pencilled in at the back of the pool stages.

How Ireland use him in the opening five weeks in France will be fascinating now – as will the battle between Jack Crowley and Ross Byrne for the role of chief understudy – but getting that first game against Romania safely tucked under Sexton's belt is absolutely critical.

“I’d back him all day to be honest to step into a game,” said Henshaw. “He’s been training the house down. I know it’s not full contact when we’re training but he hasn’t lost that sharpness, that vision or his kicking. He’s been exceptional in training, leading the group.

“The only thing for a player coming back from a long-term injury is the contacts, that full contact, so over the next few weeks he’ll get a taste for that, doing his extra bits, and get used to that. That’s the main thing when you’re coming back, that full-on, 100% contact.”