Johnny Sexton is named as the most recent coach to the Irish and British Lions, or perhaps the Irish and British Lions, at mid-morning on Thursday.
Given Sexton’s barbed comments about the Scotland fly-half as recently as February, the discussion turns to what this means for Finn Russell immediately. Finn’s Doomsday,
Over the coming weeks, Sexton will be airing a fantastic interview with The Times from last autumn. Sexton said being omitted from the final Lions tour in 2021 “kills me to this day,” a sentiment that was well expressed in his autobiography, which was released last year.
He anticipated the selection of Dan Biggar and Owen Farrell, but he was unsure of why Warren Gatland chose Russell over him.
As players and people, Sexton and Russell are opposites. They have different viewpoints on the game. Evidently, Sexton has a feud with Russell or with the coverage he inspires.
So the Russell camp’s concern over Sexton’s elevation rise is heightened. That includes Sexton leading the show in Australia as well as an Ireland head coach and an Ireland attack coach.
There is quick-tracking followed by this. Sexton was assigned a vague job title in Andy Farrell’s Ireland coaching ticket consultant for the 2024 November internationals.
He was still active when the Six Nations rolled around, but this time around he was a kicking advisor who mentored the Ireland fly-halves and shared his thoughts on the attack.
Sexton became a Lions coach after spending one-figures on the Tests acting as a coach/mentor. Essentially, the new Neil Jenkins.
Sexton’s views on Russell were exposed in that interview last year, which highlighted some of the things that had grown over the years but were never made public.
In that article, the Irishman described Russell as “flashy” and a “media darling.” The Scotland fly-half has long been regarded as talented but imposing, but this was his first official statement. Where are your medals, he didn’t specifically ask? but it was implied. His words were downplayed.
He then referred to Marcus Smith as flashy in England before turning around. Smith is a generational talent who can play a game while entertaining its audience. His opinion of Russell was not altered in any way.
He even went a step further. Who would Sexton choose for Australia’s Test 10? The majority of observers would have said Russell, and they still do. Owen Farrell, the son of the Lions coach, was Sexton’s choice.
When things get difficult, who do you want? Animals to test. I am aware of the media’s preferences. Marcus Smith, the “funny” and Finn Russell
The words are almost audibly being spelled out. In the trenches, who do you want? The test match animal is who? Not Russell. When all of this was presented to him, the Scot remained stoic. From Sexton to Russell, this has been one-way traffic. The Bath man has never disparaged Sexton in a positive way.
It’s simple to see how Owen Farrell (and Sam Prendergast) are receiving bad news while Owen Farrell is receiving good news. Sexton is a huge fan of Pendergast and a huge fan of Farrell, who was a truly great 10 in his day but who has only played 14 games for a struggling Racing this year (including three yellow cards).
Farrell, 33, has only started three games this year and hasn’t played 139 since January. Although he lacks physical form, his stock may have increased on Thursday. His father could pick him, but since the squad will be announced on May 8th, there is no such thing as favoritism.
Sexton is now a champion for Farrell Junior, and his recommendations for 10 players will have a significant impact. Everything is very intriguing.
Interesting is that Sexton will now start examining Russell from the perspective of a coach rather than a rival player.
He has only recently witnessed a talented operator, but who, in his opinion, has been overrated in the media while winning essentially nothing, who unfairly replaced his Lions in 2021 and broke his heart.
Maybe he’ll discover things about Russell that he’s never allowed to see. Possibly . There is no connection or bond between the two men, despite the fact that they were (briefly) Lions together in 2017 and played each other numerous times.
