Johnny Sexton will not change his style of play, despite the increased risk of injury that comes with it. That's according to the fly half's long time kicking coach Richie Murphy, who said that Sexton would no longer be the same player were he to alter the way he approaches the game.
The injuries have been mounting for the reigning World Player of the Year in recent times, with his propensity to suffer head injuries becoming especially worrying. Due to the role he plays for both province and country, he is someone who draws plenty of attention from opposing defences.
Sexton's tendency to take the ball flat and hold onto it until the last possible second has no doubt contributed to the knocks he has taken over the years, and some have suggested that he may have to alter his style of play in order to prolong his career.
While there would seem to be some merit to those suggestions, speaking at Carton House today, Murphy believes that it is something that is easier said than done:
It’s the game he plays. He plays flat on the line - when you play flat on the line you're going to get hit.
Obviously we don’t want him off the pitch. There's a fine line between what is fair and what isn’t fair, and as long as the referees are able to judge that and decide what's right, Johnny is not going to change the way he plays that much.
If he changes he is not the same player. He won’t create the holes he creates for other people, then there's no point really in having him.
It's a two-fold thing, really - the idea of him changing his game so he can stay on the pitch doesn’t really fit in. He needs to play the game he feels is best. He's a confrontational type of character. He wants to play on the gainline, he wants to create space for others...
He's going to play the game the way he has done for the last number of years, which is part of what made him world player of the year. If it brings him to that level I can’t see him going back away from that.
There have been suggestions that Sexton will be rested for Sunday's clash with Italy, with Joey Carbery being handed his first start in the competition. Building depth in a World Cup year is massively important, and allowing the up-and-coming Munster '10' to get as many reps as possible in test rugby will no doubt be beneficial.
Murphy said that a decision on who would start has not yet been made, but says the emerging competition between the two players can only benefit the team as a whole:
We’ve watched them training over the last few days. Both guys are in good form. We’ll just make a decision a little bit later on.
I think every player wants to play all the games that they can for their country but I think he (Sexton) is also balanced enough to realise changes sometimes need to be made.
Two guys are competing for a place. As coaches, that gives us the opportunity to get them to go against each other a little bit and try and get the best out of both of them.
