‘Sexton is the Ibrahimovic of rugby’

THE French are fascinated by Jonathan Sexton. They don’t quite know what to make of him, this driven fly-half with the same burning intensity as Jonny Wilkinson.

However, whereas the French fell in love with the English fly-half during his five years at Toulon, for Sexton they felt nothing other than cool respect in the two seasons he spent with Racing 92.

Wilkinson learned the language and tolerated the cultural differences but Sexton never made any secret of the fact he was in France for professional reasons.