Schmidt worried by Sexton workload

Joe Schmidt will again face a week of anxiety as fly-half Johnny Sexton returns to Paris while the rest of his Ireland squad convenes in Belfast to prepare for the rest of the Six Nations campaign.

With the Six Nations going into an off-week between rounds three and four of the championship, Sexton must report back to his club, Racing Metro, who play Castres on Saturday at home in the French Top 14.

Having featured for Racing in between Ireland’s games against Wales and England, the Irish playmaker could be asked to play for the sixth week in a row this weekend having faced Toulouse, Scotland, Wales, Bayonne and the English in successive weeks. With two games still to play against Italy and France, which potentially will be a championship decider, Schmidt is clearly concerned about the workload being asked of his out-half while he suggested Sexton’s performance in the defeat at Twickenham was affected by his lack of preparation time in the Irish camp over the last fortnight.