Jonathan Sexton says 'fresh' Ireland are filled with energy ahead of Scotland test
Thursday 30 January 2020 18:57, UK
A new era dawns for Irish Rugby on Saturday evening when Scotland come to town, with Andy Farrell picking up the mantle of head coach and Jonathan Sexton taking over the captaincy.
The disappointment in Japan has been put firmly in the rear-view mirror, as Ireland look to get the new World Cup cycle off to the best possible start.
"With the new coaches, the way we've set the week is totally different in terms of how we run things," explained the Leinster out-half on Thursday. "It's been new, it's been fresh and it's been good. The fresh faces have come in and given us a lot of energy and brought a real...energy is really the right word [to describe the group]."
It's been fresh
Filling the boots of the retired Rory Best as the team's skipper also brings its own challenges.
"It's definitely been a different build-up for me," Sexton mused. "There's a lot of extra things that go with being the captain but I've enjoyed it thoroughly. Lots of extra meetings, lots of prep the way Andy wants us to drive the group - very player-driven with clear direction. It has been a little bit of extra work but I've enjoyed it.
"I think all the other guys in the leadership group have enjoyed it. We've built nicely up to this point but the thing that we can learn from the World Cup is that it counts for nothing really. When Saturday comes you can have a brilliant week's prep with a very special camp and it doesn't guarantee anything."
Although Farrell will be aiming to give the side a new edge, Sexton is adamant that the core principles remain.
"The fundamentals of the game never change and you need to have that physicality and sort of aggressive mindset," he said. "We need to bring that at the weekend.
"I know a lot has been made about 'do we have a dog' in the team and stuff like that but in the modern game, you just need guys who are willing to work hard," he added, referencing Brian O'Driscoll's comments earlier this week questioning whether there is a workhorse in the Irish pack. "You have to have that intent...but hopefully we'll show a little bit of that at the weekend."
The newly-appointed captain has been battling injury in recent weeks, but has returned to full fitness in time to take the No 10 jersey for the Six Nations opener.
"[It's] great," he said, when asked about his knee. "No setbacks to talk about. It felt good on Thursday in Portugal, and I've done pretty much everything since. Delighted to be fit and raring to go now."
Focus is firmly on Scotland this weekend, and they're expecting a tough task.
"We always expect when we play Scotland an incredibly tough game, physical," Sexton continued. "They like to play quick. Under Gregor Townsend they've always tried to do that. We need to be ready for them. They've got some outstanding individual players and yeah, we'll have to be close to our best to put out a good performance against them."
And given the absence of Finn Russell, Sexton will be presented with a new opponent as he faces off against Glasgow Warriors fly-half Adam Hastings.
"I think it's like for like really," he said, equating the two Scottish 10s. "When you talk about Finn Russell's strengths, when you're talking about Adam Hastings' strengths, they're all the same. Arguably because he's been playing in Scotland and he's been playing well, he arguably could have started [regardless of Russell's absense].
"They could have started both of them in 10-12 positions. I don't know how it will disrupt them or not disrupt them. They've played it down a little bit. They seem to be happy with where they're at. He's a quality player and one we're going to have to be fully switched on for because he has a full bag of tricks that he can pull out."
