When Johnny Sexton announced his retirement from rugby, fear of the gaping hole it would leave in Irish rugby was widespread.
While the race between Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast that’s unfolding in front of our eyes has filled that hole - Sexton remains ever-present in Irish Rugby.
The former World Rugby Player of the Year had only retired from Rugby just over twelve months when it was announced that he’d be rejoining the Ireland squad in a coaching role last October, with nurturing the up-and-coming-out halves top of his agenda.
Though initially that news created somewhat of a frenzy in the media, little was made of it after Ireland’s opening test against New Zealand.
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23 September 2023; Conor Murray of Ireland, left, and Jonathan Sexton celebrate after their side's victory in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Conor Murray opens up on Johnny Sexton the coach
That was until Conor Murray, who is set to play his part in Ireland’s upcoming Six Nations campaign, sat down to discuss what his old partner in crime was like as a coach rather than as a halfback teammate.
Speaking on the For the Love of the Rugby podcast, the Munster scrum-half opened up about Johnny Sexton the coach.
I don’t miss him screaming at me, I think I’ve won one argument out of the hundreds we’ve had on the pitch, and I had to be dead sure I was right. So that side of things, no.
We’re great mates, he’s a legend of rugby. I think there’s pressure on the boys, [Sam] Prendergast, [Jack] Crowley and [Ciaran] Frawley, and whoever else gets a chance, the public will always be like ‘Johnny would have done this, Johnny would have done that,’ which is a big pressure on their shoulders. They’re trying to be themselves.
Johnny is in with us. He was in with us a little bit over November and hopefully, he will be during the Six Nations too. He’s passing on knowledge and he gets involved. In November he got involved in a couple of training sessions and he still has that narkiness, giving it out to the lads, it doesn’t leave you, it just doesn’t leave you. So lads were giving him a few shoulders and stuff, so it was good to see, giving it to him.
While it's no surprise that Sexton's 'narkiness' lives on after playing, clearly he's had some impact with both Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley rising to another level since last November's internationals.
It's already been confirmed that Sexton will once again be involved with Ireland for the Six Nations, with the former outhalf expected to juggle the commitment with his day job.
Luckily for Murray, he's now one of the veterans of this year's Ireland squad, with doubts lingering about whether he will sign another contract with Munster at the end of this season. Should it be his last foray in the green of Ireland, what better way to go out than with the aid of Sexton with whom he spent over twelve years playing alongside as one of the world's most dangerous half-back pairings.
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