‘Jack And Sam Have Huge Futures Ahead Of Them’ – Sexton

The battle for the number 10 jersey has intensified over the last year, with Prendergast’s Ireland debut against Fiji kicking off a run of six successive starts for the 22-year-old who won the inaugural BKT Rising Star award in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.

Crowley (25) has started five Tests for Andy Farrell’s men during the last twelve months, including both matches in the drawn series with South Africa, and the Autumn Nations Series games against New Zealand and Argentina.

The pair’s efforts across the season were not enough to earn selection for the British & Irish Lions tour, but they are part of a youthful Ireland squad, along with Ciarán Frawley as another out-half option, for next month’s clashes with Georgia and Portugal.

There has been increasing scrutiny on who will emerge as Sexton’s long-term successor in the position, but the man himself, who won his first international cap at the age of 24, has urged Crowley and Prendergast to just keep doing what they are doing.

“I’ve worked closely with them through the Six Nations and I’ve done a couple of sessions with them beyond the Six Nations. Jack and Sam, remarkable talents, huge futures ahead of them,” he said.

“The life of a 10 is up and down. No matter what player you look at over the years, they have had periods where they’ve been amazing, they’ve had periods where they’ve not been.

“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 are so far ahead of where I was, for example, 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 practice hard, and that’s the thing that you look at the most as a coach.

“You look at the attitude and how humble they are because ultimately that’s what will stand to them going forward.”

Sexton will have the opportunity to influence and shape the development of Ireland’s best out-halves from underage level up to the Men’s and Women’s senior teams when he begins a full-time coaching role with the IRFU from August 1.

Already embracing an ‘incredible opportunity’ to be part of the Lions coaching team this summer, the Dubliner has the ‘talent and skillset’, according to Farrell, to add a lot to the Ireland Men’s coaching group when he comes on board next season as an assistant coach.

In the immediate aftermath of his retirement following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, a move into the business world led to him becoming Chief of Staff at Ardagh Group, but his return to rugby came quicker than he expected.

“I knew deep down that I was going to miss it,” he admitted. “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.

“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 me now. I’ve had 20 years’ experience (in rugby). Yes, I haven’t coached but the role that I’m in allows me to 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.

“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.”

On his close working relationship with Farrell, who brought him into the Lions set-up for his ‘experience and expertise’ in the realm of kicking in particular, Sexton commented: “Andy is just himself. He’s himself with anyone that’s in the environment.

“Whether you’re a coach, manager, player, staff, physio, whatever. Everyone is just himself. He doesn’t treat anyone different to others so it has been very similar in that regard.

“Obviously, you kind of work more for him now. You want to make sure you do the right work and (are) giving him the right information if he asks, and do the work basically. It’s been good. It’s been no different to what I’d expected.”

Every professional rugby player deals with criticism and outside noise in their own way, with some blocking it out to keep themselves focused solely on the task at hand, and others using it as motivation to prove people wrong.

As a Test centurion and a former World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year, Sexton has seen it all during his playing days, which featured a spirited rivalry with Ronan O’Gara for Ireland’s number 10 shirt, and an enviable longevity and tenacity that saw him represent his country up to the age of 38.

While urging fans to put their provincial bias to one side and ‘support whoever’s picked and get fully behind them’, he said on the topic of the current out-halves coming under more scrutiny: “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 (of my career) 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. It’s kind of, ‘Wow, this is a bit tougher than I thought it was going to be’. But it builds a resilience.

“You find out who are your mates, who are those that you trust, and who are those that you can lean on. Going forward, I think they’ll be stronger for it.”