At 34, Johnny Sexton's prime years will be behind him when the World Cup 2019 comes along, but there is a chance he'll still be in command of the Ireland no.10 jersey. There are some worries, and some sections of the media calling on him to retire from his head issues now - but Sexton is determined to make an impact in his third World Cup.
His likely challengers to the throne will come in the form of Ulster's Paddy Jackson, Leinster's Ross Byrne, and Kerry's JJ Hanrahan. Ian Madigan's hopes will be hindered by his presence in Biarritz, but he can't be counted out either.
Will a 34-year-old Sexton be able to stand up and play to the standard that he demands? According to the 30-year-old version, yes. He spoke excitedly about the youthful infusion in the squad when previewing the Scottish game on Saturday - and wants to be a part of the future Irish teams with the likes of Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier about.
You’ve got to look a little further outside the squad for guys that are pushing hard to get into it – Garry Ringrose obviously springs to mind because he’s with my province.
Guys like Josh van der Flier have done really well. I think we’ll be in a pretty good condition in four years and I hope I’ll be still around.
You look at the guys outside, from the backline at the weekend, Robbie, Earlsy, Zebo, they’ll be around. Jared and Trimbs could be around in four years. You look at Brad Thorn winning the World Cup at 36 or 37 years of age. You could see someone like Jamie Heaslip doing that.
The longer the game is professional, the more you will see guys playing to an older age. I want to play for as long as I can anyway
He's not wrong. The vast majority of the Irish squad will be there or thereabouts in contention for the 2019, and with a number of quality youngsters coming through it could be one of the strongest squads Ireland ever have.
For Sexton, he'll need to take care of himself more than most given the sheer amount of hits and damage he receives. Teams always target quality and Sexton has shipped a number of hits in this Six Nations alone. Perhaps worringly, Sexton hasn't shied away from any hits and you can't imagine him changing any time soon. Speaking about the hits that he's getting - the only thing that Sexton is worried about is why the illegal ones aren't getting picked up:
The only frustrating thing from my point of view, is that nothing has been done in terms of penalties are the worst things that have happened off a few of those late hits.
Look, it's part of the game. It's what you expect as a number ten. It's part of the game, some of them are marginal like the one at the weekend.
Sexton's game that plays on the gainline opens himself up to more late hits, but you'd be hoping that some of the illegal hits are picked up in the future.
See Also: Joe Schmidt Sets Deadline For Deciding His Ireland Future
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
