Sexton advises Crowley and Prendergast to 'delete social media'

SUPPORT BOTH PLAYERS: Johhnny Sexton urges Munster and Leinster supporters to back both Sam Perndergast and Jack Crowley no matter which of them is picked at ten. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Johnny Sexton has urged Munster and Leinster supporters to put their differences aside and back whoever is selected in the Ireland number 10 jersey.

The selection battle between Munster’s Jack Crowley and Leinster’s Sam Prendergast has divided opinion along provincial lines and with the two fly-halves set to compete for the starting jersey once more in next month’s two-Test Ireland tour to Georgia and Portugal, their mentor believes the protagonists should be given equal backing by all.

Sexton will become a full-time assistant to Andy Farrell in the Ireland set-up following his British & Irish Lions duties this summer in Australia and speaking ahead of Friday’s pre-tour game against Argentina at Aviva Stadium, he said of the Irish 10s: “Well, I’ve worked closely with them through the Six Nations and I’ve done a couple of sessions with them beyond the Six Nations and Jack and Sam, remarkable talents, huge futures ahead of them.

“The life of a 10 is up and down. No matter what player you look at over the years, they’ve had periods where they’ve been amazing, they’ve had periods when they’ve not been. They’re just so young. You’ve got to give them a chance to learn and experience these things, but the level that they are producing already in their careers is amazing really.

“They’re so far ahead of where I was, for example and they’ve got the world at their feet with the work ethic they have. They’re humble guys, they do want to learn, they want to practice hard and that’s the thing that you look at the most as a coach. You look at the attitude and how humble they are because ultimately that’s what will stand to them going forward.

“One thing I disagree with is some of the narrative around it in terms of there’s obviously a split in the country in terms of Munster-Leinster and I’ve been there before. I’ve been in that situation and with social media getting bigger and bigger it’s tough on them at times and it shouldn’t be like that. We should be supporting whoever’s picked and getting fully behind them.” 

Sexton revealed he had “told them to delete social media,” but did not know whether that was heeded.

“All you can do is try and advise in terms of what worked for me. I was exposed to it a little bit at the very start and it's tough, isn't it. As a kid, as a seven, eight, nine, 10-year-old, all you want to do is play for Ireland and when you do it and suddenly you're getting criticised. Not all the time but sometimes and it's kind of, ‘wow, this is a bit tougher than I thought it was going to be’ but it builds a resilience.

“You find out who are your mates, who are those that you trust and who are those that you can lean on. Going forward, I think they'll be stronger for it.”