Johnny Sexton reveals how long it took Andy Farrell to convince him to join Lions coaching staff

The Irish Sun

5 hours ago

JUST when Johnny Sexton thought he was out, Andy Farrell pulled him back in.
As far as Farrell was concerned, Sexton's contribution to Irish rugby could not end simply because he had hung up his boots.
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Sexton has fully thrown himself into coaching
Credit: PA
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Farrell's charges will face Argentina on Friday at the Aviva Stadium
Credit: Getty
And, as much as the former out-half might have tried to convince himself he would be happy working in business, he did not require much persuasion to
Sexton, 39, said: '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 Lion for the first time, or Leinster.
'It's no different now. You're going in, you want to prove yourself, want to show that you can bring value.
'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?
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'Like, I didn't pick myself. He asked me to come, I considered it for about 30 seconds and ultimately how could you not? I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life.'
A part-time role first for the November Internationals and the Six Nations whetted Sexton's appetite.
And although he believes he gained a lot from his year working as the Ardagh Group's chief of staff, he feels better equipped to contribute to the Lions and Ireland teams.
He said: 'When you're starting a new job in a new line of work, you're learning. I was learning a lot.
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'But it's hard to contribute because you're sitting in a room with people that have 20 years, 30 years of experience in the industry. Whereas, that's me 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.
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'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.
'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.'
Joining the Lions team has required some bridge-building having suggested in his autobiography that Finn Russell being 'the darling of the media' swayed Warren Gatland to pick the Scot ahead of him for the 2021 Lions Tour.
Arguably more damaging, in October, he said boss Farrell should pick his own son Owen ahead of Russell.
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The pair had a quick catch-up after the squad was announced and Russell claimed they laughed about it and he held no grudge.
And Sexton said: 'What the Lions demands of you is that if there is a rivalry — which there's not but if there was — you leave it at the door.
'I'm here to help him now. I'm here to give him experiences. I'm here to answer questions. I'm not here to force myself on him or tell him what to do. It's not that relationship. I'm here to help.
'The thing about me is I'm an inexperienced coach but I've probably seen it all, rugby-wise — I've been bad, I've been dropped, I've been not picked, I've been injured.
"If they've a bad game, if they've a tough game, being able to help them out, pick them up is something that I'm quite passionate about.'
The Lions run out at Sexton's old Aviva Stadium stomping ground when tour prep ramps up with Friday's game against Argentina.
Beyond that, Sexton hopes to catch up with former mentor, Australia coach Joe Schmidt, outside the Tests to 'maybe wind him up a bit!'
He hopes his insight into Schmidt's methods can be of benefit but he admitted a recent meeting with former Ireland striker and current Ferencvaros boss
Sexton said: 'He's a good character, Robbie. We were talking about his different experiences, in Israel and Hungary? He's thriving, isn't he? He's loving it.
'I was 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.'