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Johnny Sexton says he was not surprised to see a record number of Ireland players selected in the British and Irish Lions squad, but accepts “everyone has their own opinion”.

Lions head coach Andy Farrell, who has also been Ireland boss since 2019, picked 15 in his initial 38-man squad for the Australia tour and last week called up Connacht prop Finlay Bealham following Zander Fagerson’s injury.

When asked about the strong Ireland contingent – 12 Leinster players, three from Connacht and one from Munster – Sexton pointed to the national team’s form in recent years.

“Well, Ireland have done pretty well over the last few years, having won the [Six Nations] championship last year, the Grand Slam the year before, so you’re probably looking over the last three years,” said the former Ireland captain, who is a kicking coach in Farrell’s Lions backroom team.

“With some players, coaches would look at form over eight, nine years. It’s not just if you’ve played well in a couple of games in the Six Nations, you can’t force your way in, but sometimes you take a bigger picture look with players.

“They know the way Andy coaches, they know the system. It didn’t surprise me because historically, let’s say when there was a Welsh coach and the Welsh team did well, there were the majority of the Welsh team.

When asked if he could understand why people would question the number of Ireland players in the squad, Sexton said “everyone has their own opinion”, which is the “beauty of sport”.

“You can go through the players and think ‘well who are you talking about that you wouldn’t have picked?’ because for me in terms of the last three or four years they have performed well,” added the two-time Lions tourist.

“Sometimes you can be swayed by how the Six Nations finished. The first game, Ireland against England, it was a great performance and that comes into consideration.

“With Andy, I’ve never seen such a thorough process with all the combinations and the amount of players that were considered and talked about.

Having retired after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Sexton took a job in the commercial sector before returning to the Ireland set-up as a part-time coach for last year’s autumn internationals and this year’s Six Nations, a role he “loved”.

In April, he “jumped at” the chance to join Farrell’s Lions backroom team and take a full-time role with the Irish Rugby Football Union after the tour to Australia.

Now, after a year outside of rugby, he feels he is “where I should be” after admitting “deep down” he always wanted to give coaching a try.

And while some Irish coaches have opted to cut their teeth abroad – Ronan O’Gara in France, for example – Sexton said working abroad has never appealed to him.

“I want to be in Ireland, but I’ve got to concentrate on the here and now,” he said.

“That’s ultimately how I made the decision. I have to make myself happy in the here and now and not worry about the future. If it [the IRFU role] is only for two years, it’s only for two years.

As part of his Lions role, Sexton – who was a key member of the successful 2013 tour to Australia – will work closely with fly-halves Finn Russell, Marcus Smith and Fin Smith.

“There’s a little bit of everything really. It depends on what person you’re working with, what form they’re in, if they need help or if they’re in a good place.

“The first week’s been getting to know Marcus and Fin Smith. I don’t think I played against Fin but I played against Marcus a couple of times.

“They’re remarkable, talented, great characters, great people, I’ve got to know that over the first week. I’m looking forward to working with them.”

The Lions face Argentina at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday (20:00 BST) in their pre-tour send-off fixture.

The 15-strong cohort of Bath, Leicester and Leinster players who were involved in Saturday’s Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals linked up with the squad for Monday’s training at University College Dublin.

Daryl Gurney says he hopes his and Josh Rock’s victory for Northern Ireland in the World Cup of Darts in Germany can help “push on” the sport, but admits their triumph “hasn’t sunk in”.

The pair won a thrilling last leg to beat Wales 10-9 and be crowned world champions for the first time.

They were forced to regroup following four missed darts to wrap up the win when 9-8 ahead as Welsh pair, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, took advantage to level.

Gurney kept his cool in the decider to nail double eight and seal the £80,000 first prize amid emotional scenes and he hopes their achievement will help inspire the next generation.

“If me and Josh can help push on darts, it would be brilliant, but we’ve always had a brilliant standard of players,” said Gurney.

“With Josh coming through and me winning in previous years, I feel as though more people are taking the chance on not just playing the game, but managers are taking note of Irish players and sponsoring them to give them that chance.

Gurney was speaking on Monday as he prepared to head for home and admitted there was no time for wild celebrations on Sunday night.

Following victory over South Africa on Saturday, the pair had to come through matches against the Republic of Ireland and Germany earlier on Sunday, before beating Wales in the decider.

It provided a mental test but Gurney commended his playing partner, whom he is tipping to reach the very top of the sport.

“Josh was immense, the best player in the competition for me,” he said.

“His scoring was unreal, he pumped them in at perfect times. He has been on fire all year, a future world champion, future major champion and just a pleasure to play with him. He made my job a lot easier.

“We made the decisions together. He wanted to throw first and I was more than happy to let him do that.”

Hitting the double eight to seal victory was a sweet moment for Gurney who had been waiting since the 2018 Players Championship for a third major title.

Out of the four players in the final, Gurney is the lowest ranked, so there were some nerves as he got ready to take out the match-winning double eight.