WATCH: Baird and Conan impress Bernard Jackman as Leinster beat Bulls
BERNARD JACKMAN WAS full of praise for Leinster's Ryan Baird and Jack Conan following their impressive performances vs the Bulls in the URC final.
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Get the entire podcast episode below to hear the lads' views on the encounter, as well as discussions surrounding the Premiership final and the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour.
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Irish Daily Mirror
28 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Johnny Sexton on Jim Gavin, Robbie Keane, two worlds away from rugby
The UK's angry brigade - rugby branch - are already up in arms about the amount of Irish coaches and players going to the Lions trip to Australia. A tour that has a sweet sixteen-load of Ireland players, Andy Farrell as Head coach, Simon Easterby, John Forgarty, Andrew Goodman and Johnny Sexton as Assistant have we got news for them; Sexton is thinking about bringing a bit of Jim Gavin and Robbie Keane with him too!As it is Sexton, following retiring from playing rugby for Leinster and Ireland since around the time man invented fire and following having taken a sabbatical to work in the business world, is back in a from Andy Farrell offering him the role of Out-Half Minder/Kicking Advisor for the nine-game Lions tour that opens with a game against Argentina this Friday at the out Sexton hasn't really been away, he was just taking a break and is back with friends now Monica and Chandler and Andy, Simon, Tadgh, Jamison, Jack, JR, James, Garry and so time away ought to have been interesting as well, getting to see former Dubs coach Jim Gavin's business view and talking to Robbie Keane about his there is the roadshow all the podcasts have missed out on, Gavin-Sexton-Keane while, apparently, there is no truth in the rumour Sky Sports are going to divert Roy,,,.Says Sexton of sampling the cut-throat world of the business boardroom, of carrying the knife in your briefcase and not in your lionskin shirt:'It was a great experience for me, it kinda solidified what I thought about high performance really, whether you are in business or in sport."That what you do every day is every (itals) thing (itals), the standards that you set, all these things that Joe (Schmidt) taught us when he came to Leinster, what was it, all those 15 years ago."That was solidified further over the last year and a half, and so from that regard, sometimes if you take a step back from the environment and you are not in it, sometimes you can actually see a lot of wider things."And then when you get back in you can say I matched up or that I was wrong there and it gives you a different perception of it. I learned a lot, I threw myself into it."The time away from the training ground has added to his perception of Jim Gavin's thinking, the most successful modern-day GAA coach/manager."I have met him, yes, a very impressive guy. We have had him in over the years with the Ireland team, I don't think we had him in with the Leinster team and you could see why he was so successful. He is very similar to Joe actually and we took a lot from his visits.'Overall, it was a great experience for me. I learned a lot, I threw myself into it, I was in it for the long haul in my own mind. Maybe I was tricking myself, I'm not sure."But, having made the decision now, I'm kind of like, I feel I'm where I should be in terms of in sport, in rugby, and loving being part of it and trying to challenge myself in here now."Robbie Keane is from a different world, a different sport to Gavin and Sexton, and he left a positive impression.'I did get a chance to talk to him, yeah. He's a good character, Robbie. Talking about his different experiences, in Israel and Hungary. "He's thriving, isn't he? He's loving it. Picking his brain on certain things he's doing there but most of the time I spent laughing at him. He's just a great character, great story-teller. A lot of fun, yeah."
The Irish Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Johnny Sexton offers drastic life advice to Sam Prendergast & Jack Crowley based off experience duelling Ronan O'Gara
JOHNNY SEXTON has advised Ireland's rival out-halves to get off social media. Sexton knows a thing or two about the level of scrutiny which comes from the territory, from his tussle with Ronan O'Gara for the no 10 shirt in the early part of his career. Advertisement 3 Sam Prendergast helped Leinster to secure victory in the URC Grand Final on Saturday 3 While Jack Crowley showed plenty of resolve in Munster's contentious penalty shootout loss to Sharks in the quarter-finals 3 Sexton is very well placed to offer them advice Credit: PA Now, the attention on Sam Prendergast, 22, and 25-year-old Jack Crowley - neither of whom made the Lions squad - has been amplified in the digital age. Sexton said: 'I've worked closely with them through the Six Nations and I've done a couple of sessions with them beyond the Six Nations. 'They're remarkable talents, huge futures ahead of them. 'The life of a 10 is up and down. No matter what player you look at over the years, they've had periods where they've been amazing, they've had periods when they've not been. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport 'They're just so young. You've got to give them a chance to learn and experience these things, but the level that they are producing already in their careers is amazing really. 'They're so far ahead of where I was and they've got the world at their feet with the work ethic that they have. 'They're humble guys, they do want to learn, they want to practise hard and that's the thing that you look at the most as a coach. 'One thing I disagree with is some of the narrative around it in terms of there's obviously a split in the country in terms of Munster-Leinster and I've been there before. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union 'I've been in that situation and with social media getting bigger and bigger it's tough on them at times and it shouldn't be like that. "We should be supporting whoever's picked and getting fully behind them. I told them to delete social media.' Inside Leinster's boozy celebrations as stars dance on team bus while leaving Croke Park as URC champs Sexton admitted he was unsure if they had followed his advice or if the criticism had got to them. He said: "I don't know. You can sometimes get a sense. I'm not sure. I really am not. Advertisement "All you can do is try and advise in terms of what worked for me. I was exposed to it a little bit at the very start and it's tough, isn't it? 'As a kid, as a seven, eight, nine, 10-year-old, all you want to do is play for Ireland and, when you do it, suddenly you're getting criticised. 'Not all the time but sometimes and it's kind of, 'wow, this is a bit tougher than I thought it was going to be' but it builds resilience. 'You find out who are your mates, who are those that you trust and who are those that you can lean on. I think they'll be stronger for it.' Advertisement
Irish Examiner
41 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
In at the deep end but Sexton out to bring value to Farrell's Lions camp
It took all of 30 seconds for Johnny Sexton to jump into the deep waters of elite coaching with Ireland and the British & Irish Lions but the fly-half legend thinks he would have regretted it for the rest of his life if he had not dived in. Twenty months after turning his back on rugby when he hung up his boots at the end of the 2023 World Cup and began life in the business world, Sexton was speaking at University College Dublin on Monday as an assistant to Lions head coach Andy Farrell. The Lions, now complete with the arrival of a victorious 12-strong Leinster contingent following Saturday's URC title victory, and three English Premiership finalists from champions Bath and runners-up Leicester Tigers, are almost up to their full complement ahead of Friday night's non-Test international and pre-tour warm-up against Argentina at Aviva Stadium. Just returned from a six-day Lions training camp in Portugal, primarily working with available fly-halves Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, he admitted there had been some trepidation about entering the coaching world at such an exalted level. The Test centurion and former Ireland captain, a two-time Lions tourist as a player in 2013 and 2017, had returned to the Irish camp at Farrell's invitation on a part-time basis last November and was back in a similar capacity for this season's Six Nations campaign. The IRFU announced Sexton would become a full-time coach with the national team next season but Farrell appointed him old to his Lions staff for this summer's tour to Australia and he confessed he had been a little daunted by his new status. 'Yeah, of course there would be that type of… as a player I would have always doubted myself throughout the years, whether it was coming into the Irish set-up for the first time or when you become a Lions for the first time, or Leinster. 'You always have those doubts. It's no different now. You're going in, you want to prove yourself, you want to show that you can bring value. 'Yeah, it was something I considered when Andy picked up the phone, you're kind of going 'wow'. It's such an honour, how can you say no? Like, I didn't pick myself. He asked me to come, I considered it for about 30 seconds and ultimately how could you? I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life.' Sexton added that he would be kidding himself if he had resisted the pull of the sport he graced for more than 20 years as a professional. "I think when Andy asked me to come back in, in November, I knew deep down that I was going to miss it. It wasn't until I was back in it that I missed it. Sometimes you try and kid yourself when you're out of it and you're watching and you're going, you feel a bit detached from it. 'So, it was comfortable. When you're starting a new job, in a new line of work, you're learning. I was learning a lot, but it's hard to contribute because you're sitting in a room with people that have 20 years, 30 years' experience in the industry. Whereas, that's my now. I've had 20 years' experience. Yes, I haven't coached but the role that I'm in allows me to I suppose give some experience without having too much responsibility in terms of the team, being able to influence it in certain ways so it's been a good balance with how I've started off. Read More Leinster contingent reports for duty with British and Irish Lions 'I'm hoping that with the Ireland set-up, there will be a bit more of that responsibility and we'll see how that progresses over the next while.' Sexton said he was looking forward to a front row seat for the upcoming duel between Farrell and his Irish predecessor Joe Schmidt, the current Australia boss whom the fly-half had played under for a decade at Leinster and Ireland. He had been viewed as Schmidt's on-pitch coach and addressing the upcoming series Sexton said: "Maybe that's why Andy asked me. "Maybe that was part of it, I am not sure you would have to ask him. "I'm sure Joe has evolved as well. He has left the country since 2019, he has been in different jobs Blues, New Zealand, now Australia, and I am sure he has evolved and has changed. "But I doubt if he has changed some of the big factors that he always coaches, the importance of the ruck, both sides of the ball, how he looks at the game, how he breaks us down, those type of things. "Like you say, very knowledgeable but Andy knows him well, Simon Easterby knows him well and he knows them so it is going to be... I suppose the best thing for a neutral watching in, it is going to be pretty fascinating in how they take each other on.' Ioane jibe still stings Sexton Leinster's decision to sign All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane from December to June next year has not gone down well with Johnny Sexton. The two have been engaged in a spat since they exchanged words after New Zealand's 2023 World Cup quarter-final victory over Ireland. The Irish fly-half legend claimed in his autobiography last year that Ioane had told him: 'Don't miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement,' with the addition of an expletive. Sexton was not on the field when next the two nations met in Dublin last November yet Ioane celebrated their victory by posting a picture of him leading the Haka, accompanied by the words: 'Put that in the book.' Sexton's Lions press conference closed with the question, did he ever think he would see Reiko Ioane at Leinster? "Wow, save the best for last,' the assistant coach replied. 'I purchased my Munster season ticket last week, put it that way...'
