Sexton ready for summer tour

Johnny Sexton looks set to turn down the chance of a well-earned summer break and make himself available for Ireland’s two-Test tour to Argentina next month.

The Six Nations-winning fly-half has endured an exhausting 12 months since leaving Leinster at the end of last season, steering the British & Irish Lions to a series victory over Australia last June before joining French club Racing Metro after just three weeks’ rest.

Injuries to Racing’s other fly-halves meant the Parisian club relied heavily on Sexton during the early part of the French Top 14 and Heineken Cup campaigns and he looks set to start this weekend’s play-off against Toulouse having already played in 24 of his team’s 32 games this season.

Add in seven Test appearances for Ireland from a possible eight starts under Joe Schmidt and that is already 31 games under his belt in the 2013-14 campaign, with a possible Top 14 semi-final and final to play ahead of the first Ireland Test with Argentina on June 7.

The indications have been that Schmidt is offering some of his frontline players the opportunity to miss the tour, but, having got his tenure off to a flying start, many of those stars may be inclined to stay within the fold at every opportunity, with the two Tests versus the Pumas the start of a 10-game lead-in to the warm-ups for the 2015 World Cup.