Sexton explains last week's first Gatland meeting since Lions snub
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has insisted he does not hold a grudge against Wales head coach Warren Gatland regarding his painful British and Irish Lions snub. Out-half Sexton was devastated to be overlooked for the 2021 tour of South Africa and he will come up against Lions boss Gatland for the first time since then in this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener in Cardiff.
Sexton has impressively responded to that major disappointment, leading his country to a Six Nations Triple Crown, a historic series success in New Zealand, and the top of the world rankings during the past 12 months. The 37-year-old, who on Wednesday trained without a face mask for the first time since undergoing cheekbone surgery last month, met Gatland at last week’s Six Nations launch event in London and explained there is no lingering hostility.
“It’s something that you never get back which is why it hurts so badly at the time,” the two-time Lions tourist told a press conference at Ireland’s training camp in Portugal. “But people make their decisions and, at the time, they probably make them for what they think are the right reasons.
"I met him at the launch and there was no animosity or anything. I shook hands and said hello. I got on really well with him on the two previous tours, which is probably why it hurt so much. But it is what it is. It’s over now, it was a long time ago.”
Gatland opted to pick Dan Biggar, Finn Russell and Owen Farrell as his No10 options against the Springboks, before calling up Marcus Smith as cover. The New Zealander, who returned for a second stint in charge of Wales in December, admitted this week that Sexton had probably proved him wrong with his subsequent fine form.
He also claimed this weekend’s Principality Stadium clash is a free hit for the hosts due to Ireland being overwhelming favourites, an assessment which was dismissed outright by Sexton. “Maybe that is what he is saying but he certainly hasn’t picked a team that would suggest it is a free hit because he has picked such an experienced team,” said Sexton, who is fit and available to start following his recent facial injury.
“He has brought back some older guys that would suggest he is targeting this game. If he was looking at a free hit, he would pick all the young lads, give it a lash and see if they can get through to the World Cup. We are definitely not preparing like that. We are preparing for a full-on Test match in the Principality Stadium which is an incredibly tough place to go and win. That is all we have been talking about and preparing for.”
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Barnes is on the board of the RFU as referee representative. The Referees Union who wrote the letter calling for a Special General Meeting over the pay of execs/losses and more made mistakes. A symtom of a good letter is that you can stand behind every line in it as factual. While there are several good points in their letter they allowed a few ill thought out rants. This meant that the Board via Wayne Barnes can undermine the letter by focusing on the inaccuracies which weakens the real points. I'm not saying Barnes is acting untoward, he's not, he is concerned about refs showing hypocricy and he is also defending the RFU.
The Referees position is weakened simply by not being able to write a proper letter.
This is not untypical of sporting organisations and representatives at all levels.
Go to commentsYes, it will become much harder to target an opposing scrum now, which is why I think having a solid rather than dominant scrum will be enough for teams in the future. While the impact of the 30 second law is still to be fully felt, the free kick law has already had an impact. I can't imagine the Boks taking many quick taps from free kicks in the past. They would have taken a scrum to work a penalty or continue their 'slow poison' on the legs of the opposition. With that option off the table the scrum has already become less important as a weapon.
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