Family rivalry on the cards as Johnny Sexton's brother set for PRO14 move

Johnny Sexton might have to start twisting a few arms in the Leinster hierarchy to make sure he lines out in his side’s Guinness PRO14 matches next season against struggling Southern Kings.

This type of fixture would usually be off limits for Sexton who is only ever available for the bigger matches in the league due to the IRFU prioritising his availability for Ireland’s internationals and Leinster’s European matches.

However, if the fixtures fall at a convenient time, he will now surely look to face the Kings due to a very special reason - the rare chance to face his younger brother Jerry in a match.

The 26-year-old second row, who is seven years younger than his more famous brother, has been treading the boards these past few seasons for English Championship club Jersey following previous stints at London Irish, Exeter and Auch.

A former Ireland under-20 player, Sexton didn’t make a Premiership start for either the Chiefs or Irish. However, he has found his feet playing for the Channel Island club these past two seasons, starting in 43 Championship matches and delivering the sort of durability that has brought him to the attention of the fledgling PRO14 franchise.

Jerry Sexton in action for London Irish (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

A source in Dublin has confirmed to RugbyPass that a three-year deal has been struck between Sexton’s Navy Blue Sports agency and the Kings to take him to South Africa in a novel move that finally alters the direction of the traffic which sees South Africans come to Ireland rather than an Irishman head to South Africa.

Southern Kings confirmed the RugbyPass story later on Wednesday by officially announcing their deal with Sexton.

The Port Elizabeth club have had a trying introduction into the PRO14, winning only three of their 41 matches so far in their two seasons since being cut from Super Rugby.

However, they have recently been taken over by a consortium of Eastern Cape business people who acquired a controlling 74 per cent shareholding from SA Rugby and are looking to beef up their efforts in a tournament they have struggled to cope with.

Leinster scored 191 points in their four victories so far over the Kings, defeating them 59-19 and 64-7 in Dublin and winning 38-31 and 31-10 in Port Elizabeth.

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