‘You’d be a brave man telling Sexton he wasn’t playing...’

Michael Cheika may not have envied Joe Schmidt the task of telling Johnny Sexton he would be watching tomorrow’s kick-off at Suncorp Stadium from the bench but the man who made the call had no hesitation in handing Joey Carbery Ireland’s No. 10 jersey.

His opposite number in the Wallabies camp knows only too well the dangers of bearing bad news to Ireland’s first-choice No. 10, having shepherded Sexton through his early senior career at Leinster as the Australian attempted to dovetail the youngster’s need for gametime with the need to start first-choice Felipe Contepomi.

Schmidt has long been in a similar position with Sexton clearly Ireland’s dominant 10 while recognising his Ireland’s hopes of prolonged success and a chance to make amends for the quarter-final exit at the 2015 World Cup depend on finding a viable replacement for the 32-year-old playmaker.