Johnny Sexton 'very shocked' by CJ Stander's decision to retire

The Ireland captain has praised his teammate's contribution to club and country over the past seven years and said that the 30-year-old is walking away from the game for "the right reasons"

Johnny Sexton and CJ Stander celebrate Ireland's win over Scotland at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday. Photo by Paul Devlin/Sportsfile

Johnny Sexton admits he was shocked when told of CJ Stander’s decision to retire at the end of this season.

The Ireland captain was called into a meeting yesterday with Stander and Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach, and told of the Munster man’s plan to return to South Africa this summer for family reasons which he outlined in a long and impassioned Instagram post.