Ronan O’Gara: Johnny Sexton ready to go the distance against England

Ronan O’Gara believes Johnny Sexton is ready to be at his sharpest for Ireland over a full 80 minutes against England on Sunday when the RBS 6 Nations’ two remaining unbeaten sides go head-to-head in Dublin.

O’Gara, Sexton’s kicking coach at Racing Metro, saw the Ireland fly-half successfully negotiate a robust 66 minutes against French Top 14 leaders Clermont Auvergne in Paris on Saturday night. That followed a 70-minute man of the match performance in the win over France seven days earlier in his first game back from a 12-week lay-off enforced following four concussions in 2014.

Sexton came away from that game with a black left eye and stitches in a cut above it suffered in a clash of heads with Mathieu Bastareaud but they remained unscathed against Clermont and now he faces another big challenge in helping Ireland overcome a powerful and confident English side at Aviva Stadium this weekend.