Sexton: It’s not about me and Ronan

Earlier this week, Rob Penney talked about tomorrow’s Leinster-Munster game and how one of its attractions was its status as a quasi-Irish trial game but Jonathan Sexton was quick to play down any head-to-head subplots yesterday.

The Leinster out-half has been bracketed with Ronan O’Gara since his full debut in Thomond Park in 2006 and has had to contend with chatter about the pair’s contest for the green jersey on every one of the 13 other occasions on which they have faced off since.

“It’s not about me versus Ronan O’Gara,” said Sexton, who has started Ireland’s last eight Tests. “It’s Leinster versus Munster. That’s the way. I’ve never looked at it as a one-on-one battle like a loose head versus a tight head.