Johnny Sexton is set and ready to lead Ireland into yet another Six Nations campaign - but with the Leinster outhalf approaching his 37th birthday this summer, former Ireland internationals Brian O'Driscoll and Rory Best have reservations about depending on Sexton for next year's World Cup.
O'Driscoll and Best were both pundits for ITV ahead of Ireland's game against Wales on the opening weekend of the Six Nations. Both were former Ireland captains, and had their say on the current Ireland captain and how much Andy Farrell and his team should be depending on him.
O'Driscoll and Best express Sexton concerns ahead of World Cup
Since snatching the number 10 jersey away from Ronan O'Gara in the early 2010s, Johnny Sexton has remained largely untouched as Ireland's first choice outhalf. Pretenders to the crown like Ian Madigan and Joey Carbery have failed to make enough of an impact to force their way into the starting XV in the nine years since O'Gara's retirement.
Rory Best appeared on ITV's coverage of Ireland v Wales on Saturday. Though he said he expects that Sexton will play on to the World Cup in France next year, he went on to question whether the lack of competition at out half is a good thing for Ireland.
I think all the signs at the minute are that he will. He's very confident that he will. I think he can only judge on how he's playing. Brian said at the top of the show about the great strength in depth that spreads right across - but out half is one small issue.
Jack Carty is playing really well at Connacht, but they've preferred Joey Carbery on the bench today, who hasn't played as much through injury since the 2019 World Cup. They need some of these guys to step up.
It's not just Johnny's playing ability, it's the way he runs it. All the organisation - a lot of it is coming from Johnny. Not just in the game, but in training as well - there's this heavy reliance on Johnny the person, the captain, and the player.
Sexton's position as team captain makes him a crucial cog in the Ireland setup. Coach Andy Farrell has passed up many opportunities to blood others in the position, with Carty and the Byrne brothers at Leinster all struggling to make their mark.
6 November 2021; Jonathan Sexton of Ireland in action against Ryoto Nakamura of Japan during the Autumn Nations Series match between Ireland and Japan at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Brian O'Driscoll appeared alongside Best in the ITV studio, and went one step further, saying that the way the Ireland team has been built around Sexton will lead to issues down the line.
He's Ireland's greatest strength but potentially Ireland's greatest weakness if he's not there.
He wields so much power within the setup, there's so much going through him that when other personnel who haven't had the same game time as him are filtered in, it hasn't been the same cohesive nature.
It's brilliant while he's still fit and playing well for us, but I hope he can maintain that for the next 18 months.
Johnny Sexton is unquestionably the most important player in Ireland's setup - but, according to Best and O'Driscoll, the dependance on Sexton may well be an issue in the making.
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