Sexton confident Springbok scrum demolition was a 'one-off' for Ireland

Sexton speaks to head coach Andy Farrell during the loss to the Springboks. Pics: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

It’s November 2020 and Ireland have sandwiched a win over Wales with defeats to France and England. The natives are getting restless and James Ryan, the team captain, is preaching the need for patience.

Ryan spoke of inexperience in the room, the need to fix some setpiece stuff and vary their attacking plays. Not dissimilar to the present day, then. A few weeks later and Johnny Sexton was repeating the message that Ireland weren’t far away.

Turns out they were right.

A comprehensive defeat of England in the next Six Nations righted the ship and propelled Ireland on to great things. But what now, on the back of a year where they have lost twice to New Zealand and to both France and South Africa?

“The big change now is we're trying to develop our game but also we've lost probably 600 caps worth of experience out of the building in the space of 18 months, two years,” said Sexton at the newly-named Laya Arena on Tuesday.

“In terms of what's been asked of players, it's different to what it was before because now they have to be the leaders. They have to take responsibility for the team. They have to drive to week. They have to do all the things that leaders do. That's a big change.

“It's something that we're working on massively at the moment.” This leadership vacuum isn’t the only area in need of work. Sexton admitted as much. 

Ireland’s issues have been many and varied in the last couple of seasons. Last Saturday against South Africa it was indiscipline and a demolished scrum that hurt most.

The team’s collection of penalties and cards has hit overdrive in this World Cup cycle. It’s a bad sign for a side that had been so squeaky clean, but so too is the setpiece crisis occasioned by the Boks last weekend.

Ireland and South Africa players contest a scrum during the Quilter Nations Series match. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

As with an all-too-often malfunctioning lineout, the fear is that opponents will look to target Ireland in such a fundamental area of the game, starting with the French on Six Nations opening night next February, but Sexton doesn’t feel the effects will linger.

“Well, no, because in my eyes it's a one-off. That's never happened to our scrum before. I know we've got good people involved in that department and a lot of work has gone on there. So they'll come up with solutions, they'll come up with fixes.

“There was a couple of brilliant scrums in there that we didn't get rewarded for, key parts of the game, which was disappointing. But sometimes it's very hard to change when the scrum has gone a certain way for an early part of the game. If you fix it for a couple, it's almost unbelievable. We didn't get the rub of the green.” 

The word ‘humiliating’ was put to him in relation to the Springbok loss. It wasn’t one he accepted. Humiliation, said Sexton, would be if the team threw in the towel and, like Farrell, he spoke with pride of the way they fronted up when down to 14, 13 and 12 men.

The cynic might see similarities there in his take after the World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand that Ireland ‘won even though they lost’, but this wasn’t a whitewash job. The questions are being asked as to how they got themselves into such a pickle in the first place.

“As coaches, that's something they'd be quite good at. They can be people on one hand and then be coaches on another and say, ‘lads, that isn’t good enough’. There's definitely a balance to hold them out with 12 men, 13 men to win the second-half. All those are positives. We definitely have to use them going forward.” 

Sexton’s brief going forward remains focused on – but not exclusive to - the kicking game in an era when that aerial battle has never been more integral on the back of law changes against the use of escort runners.

Just how important was obvious when the Boks continued to put boot to ball at the Aviva Stadium at a time when Ireland were reduced to just a dozen players. Designed to get ball in play more, it’s also a way to ensure more scrums.

Sexton doesn’t think the changes were particularly well thought through.

“Well, we know where it was driven from, we know where it came from, which is no surprise because that tends to happen now. Certain people seem to have their way with the way the game is going now and I don’t think many other people get consulted.”