Easterby: 'He's the talisman in the squad and the more minutes he can play the better'

Johnny Sexton got his fourth Rugby World Cup underway in impressive style as he captained Ireland to an 82-8 victory over Pool B underdogs Romania at Stade de Bordeaux.

Jonathan Sexton, right, and Tadhg Beirne of Ireland after the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Ireland and Romania at Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Ireland will give Johnny Sexton every possible chance to play as many minutes as he can as he leads his country’s World Cup campaign in France in his last matches before retirement.

Sexton, 38, got his fourth Rugby World Cup underway in impressive style as he captained Ireland to an 82-8 victory over Pool B underdogs Romania at Stade de Bordeaux, his first game in six months following injury and suspension.

The veteran fly-half contributed two tries and seven conversions from eight attempts in the 12-try rout. His 24-point haul tied David Humphries’ national record effort at a World Cup, against Argentina in 1999, as he became Ireland’s oldest player, surpassing John Hayes, who was 37 and 277 days when he came off the bench against Scotland for his 105th and final cap in August 2011.

More importantly he came through 65 minutes unscathed save a for a stamp on the wrist as he scored his first try just before half-time, continuing his return to action into the third quarter before exiting the stage to a standing ovation from the vast majority of the 41,117 crowd who were supporting Ireland.

In Ireland’s post-match media conference, which the captain took alongside head coach Farrell, Sexton made it clear he wished to back up his performance against Romania with more game time against Tonga in Nantes this Saturday and assistant coach Simon Easterby said yesterday the Irish management wanted him to play as much as possible.

“Johnny's not got potentially many more times wearing the green jersey and… he wants to play every minute that he can. That will be a conversation between him and Faz and making sure that he and Faz are happy with the discussions and how they want to map out the next couple of weeks. But certainly from our end, he's the captain, he's the talisman in the squad and the more minutes he can play the better.

“I think it's great that he got that many minutes (against Romania). He looked good, he looked fresh, he was energetic and, I guess because of his age and his experience, he doesn't tend to need a huge amount of rugby to get himself back into the swing of things.

Easterby added: “It is different in a game and it's different against opposition that we don't know what they're going to do all the time, that makes it a little bit more unpredictable. But certainly if Johnny is fit and available then it's great for us and it means that he can keep on playing.” 

Sexton’s long-time Ireland team-mate Iain Henderson was also impressed by his captain’s performance and even lauded the 2018 World Rugby player of the year as probably the current best player on the planet.

“He holds himself to an incredibly high standard, that is first and foremost and for him to come out and train the way he does and be able to put in the performance as he does, to come in and not having played for a good number of weeks is phenomenal,” Henderson said, following his shift off the bench on Saturday.

“But that is why he’s probably the best player in the world. That is why he is able to perform the way he does. Because he holds himself to high standards and he brings people with him.”