Andy Farrell confident Johnny Sexton will be fit to face France

Andy Farrell is confident Johnny Sexton will fit to face France in Dublin on Saturday when Ireland will look to continue their winning start to the 2023 Guinness Six Nations at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.

SIX NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

SIX NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

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Last season’s Grand Slam winners will arrive in the capital on the back of a 14th straight Test win against Italy on Sunday but were taken to the wire by the Azzurri in a 29-24 victory. They looked far from their best but a fit Sexton pulling Ireland’s strings will be essential if momentum is in this campaign is to be maintained.

Ireland were leading 27-10 against Wales in Cardiff last Saturday when the veteran fly-half and captain was withdrawn on 68 minutes with a dead leg. Referee Karl Dickson had also requested a Head Injury Assessment in the wake of a high tackle on the 37-year-old that earned Wales full-back Liam Williams a 65th-minute yellow card but Sexton would have been free to return having passed the HIA.

Head coach Farrell described the injury to his skipper as “a slight dead leg” and added: “He should be fine.” Sexton had kicked three conversions and two penalties, the 12 points increased his career total in the championship to 543, just 12 behind tournament record holder and fellow Irishman Ronan O’Gara. It was his first game back since sustaining a cheek injury against Connacht on January 1 in what was his first appearance since November 5, a calf problem having curtailed his Autumn Nations Series.

While Sexton proved more than able to hit the ground running after such little rugby, Farrell’s concerns will focus on scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and loosehead prop Cian Healy, both of whom were withdrawn due to hamstring injuries before kick-off. Ireland had also made do without Tadhg Furlong, the tighthead prop for whom the Wales game came to soon for a full recovery from a calf injury.

Ireland medics were assessing their chances of an immediate return to training when the squad reconvened in Dublin on Sunday evening to begin preparations for the visit of France. Of Gibson-Park and Healy’s potential availability for Saturday, the head coach said: "We'll find out tomorrow. We'll see.

“That's the strength of the group coming through that. Guys like Johnny, there's three or four of them that's not played any rugby for a long time, two or three injuries during the week as well, and what happened this morning could have unsettled a side, but there's no excuse for us. We prepare as a group, we prepare as a squad of 37, 38, and we expect ourselves to perform. That's what we did."

Farrell also expects Ireland’s supporters to give his team their full vocal backing at the Aviva this Saturday. The home support has not always appeared totally engaged with the on-field action but the Ireland boss is confident a sell-out crowd will get behind their team against the French.

“I think everyone realises what’s coming next week and there’s one thing about an Irish crowd, they know that if there’s a big game and they have to get behind the team they are the best in the world, there’s no doubt about that.”