Joe Schmidt: Recalling Johnny Sexton for France clash is a risk worth taking

Joe Schmidt does not need reminding tomorrow’s Six Nations clash with France is a win or bust affair but it will certainly calm the nerves that he will have Johnny Sexton back in harness to keep Ireland’s championship hopes alive in Dublin.

First-choice fly-half Sexton will start in a Test match this weekend for the first time since November 19, one of three changes from the bonus-point rout of Italy on February 11 with captain Rory Best recovered from a stomach bug to return at hooker and Jack McGrath taking over from Cian Healy in the latest rotation of the loosehead props.

Yet it is Sexton’s re-emergence that demands attention. His last Test appearance against New Zealand, the 31-year-old’s 63rd Ireland cap, lasted just 18 minutes before a hamstring injury sidelined him for the rest of 2016 and he managed only another 130 minutes of game time for Leinster since that evening at the Aviva Stadium before a calf strain on January 20 sidelined Sexton for the first two rounds of this RBS 6 Nations.