Paul O'Connell: Johnny Sexton ban could be silver lining for Ireland

Sexton will miss the three warm-up games against Italy this Saturday, England and Samoa.

FORWARD THINKING: Forwards Coach Paul O'Connell. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Paul O’Connell believes Johnny Sexton will be concerned about missing all three World Cup warm-ups because of suspension but the Ireland forwards coach thinks the veteran’s absence could be a silver lining for the team’s ambitions.

Sexton’s ban, accrued from his conduct after Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup loss to La Rochelle in May, will see him miss the three warm-up games against Italy this Saturday, England and Samoa.

It leaves Farrell, O’Connell and the rest of the staff with three inexperienced out-halves to work with this next while. Sixteen of Ross Byrne’s 19 caps have come from the bench, Jack Crowley has just three Test appearances to his name and Ciaran Frawley is uncapped.

It is a far-from-perfect scenario and it mimics the state of affairs in 2015 and in 2019 when Sexton’s back-ups had too few games under their belts when it came to the global tournament. Hence the ‘opportunity’ this next month brings.

The sense is that Crowley’s role in Munster’s successful end-of-season run to the URC title has seen him make up ground on Byrne but O’Connell speared the suggestion that the brains trust already has designated minutes mapped out.

“They haven't been informed 'this is how we're selecting for the next four weeks, that's for sure',” said the forwards coach. “They're all playing for places, but Johnny's selection allows those guys own it a little bit.

“It puts us in a good position heading into the World Cup, because those guys get to accumulate more experience: not just of playing on the big day, but owning it and running the week, driving some of the detail as well. Johnny's suspension is unfortunate for us, but there's a real good silver lining for us as well.”

POINTING THE WAY: Paul O'Connell during a training session.

Sexton turned 38 this summer and hasn’t played since the last round of Six Nations games in late March. Not ideal, again, but O’Connell is comforted by the fact that the veteran has returned successfully and sharply from long absences before.

Playing ten does not ask the same in terms of physical demands as a back three player or a back row and Sexton hasn’t yet missed a training session since the Ireland squad convened for pre-season in mid-June.

The one piece missing from Sexton’s prep, aside from the prospect of game time, is heavy contact in training as the management errs on the side of caution but that will be rectified the closer things get to the tournament in early September.

“It's a strength of his to be able to come back as well having been out,” said O’Connell. “You meet Johnny on a Monday or a Tuesday and he can talk about any match that was on TV. I don't know how he gets away with it but he seems to watch an awful lot of rugby. He thinks a lot about rugby.

“So that helps him hit the ground running when he comes back. I'd say it's a worry for him, you know. He wants to finish playing really, really well, and I'd say he'd love to have a few more games under his belt.

"But it is what it is. And it's a silver lining for our squad that it allows some guys to take ownership. It's not something I'm worried about.”

Their talisman aside, Ireland are training with a full squad ahead of Saturday’s first World Cup warm-up against the Azzurri at the Aviva Stadium and O’Connell added to the feelgood vibes emanating from the camp ahead of this crucial juncture.

The plan is that, like Sexton when he returns, Farrell’s side will be able to hit the ground running this weekend on the back of a pre-season that has prioritised rugby-based sessions over mind-numbing physical work alone.

It’s a fine balance they’re after. There is a desire not to “break” the players but an understanding that the squad needs to be fine-tuned physically and mentally come the opening pool game against Romania in Bordeaux.

Still, while some countries are starting virtually from scratch – England, Wales and Australia among them – Ireland are looking instead to evolve their game and strike another balance between frontline players in need of minutes and fringe faces looking for auditions.

O’Connell’s expectation is that all 41- players available to them in their preliminary squad will be given some game time before the numbers are whittled down to 33 but mention of the word ‘experimentation’ met with an interesting response.

“Whoever gets a go, it certainly won’t be an experiment. We certainly won’t be crossing our fingers. We have a pretty good idea how guys are going to go, and that's down to the way we've been preparing in preparing.”