The Ireland captain has been pulling the strings as cleverly as ever at this World Cup.
Argentinian front row pair Agustín Creevy and Francisco Gómez Kodela have helped their side into the quarter-finals, while Portugal prop Francisco Fernandes was key in an impressive campaign that ended with a brilliant win over Fiji.
Because Sexton has been so brilliant for so long, it’s almost taken for granted at this stage. But watching him last weekend against Scotland, it hit home how impressive this all is. A 38-year-old out-half who is quite possibly still the best in his position in the world? It’s remarkable. While Scotland aren’t stacked with defenders in the shortside, Sexton’s scanning to that side of the pitch tells him that wing Mack Hansen is the only Irishman in that 20-metre channel to the right.
A few of the Irish forwards are working to get across to the right but Sexton calls for play to switch back to the left and moves that way himself. It proves to be a good decision. With Turner out of the equation, Scottish lock Grant Gilchrist is left in an exposed position and the late arrival of Hansen makes life even more difficult.
While this try highlights how all the parts around Sexton function smoothly and everyone has a deep understanding of what they want to do as a team, the out-half is obviously central to it all. Again, Sexton may have pinpointed how Scotland’s backs are focused on that left-hand side of the pitch. Hooker Turner has Sexton , while Hansen is well-marked by a couple of Scottish forwards on the inside .As he receives the ball, Sexton immediately steps off his right foot and straightens up, which in turn lures Russell to bite in on him.
It’s poor defence from Scotland in the frontline, as on a number of occasions in this game, but it’s also excellent attack from Ireland.The Ireland skipper has a key role in the second Irish try which comes on first-phase with a clever lineout strike from the right-hand side. Ireland have a lineout in essentially the same position on the right-hand side and Sexton, who calls all the plays for Ireland, decides to run something extremely similar.
Russell is now playing catch-up on Sexton, who knows he’s outside Russell and so looks to threaten the inside shoulder of centre Sione Tuipulotu. Sexton plays the short ball and though Tuipulotu now adjusts out to tackle Aki, he’s in a weak position from which to tackle. For Ireland’s third try, scored by Henderson, Sexton doesn’t actually touch the ball over the course of an 11-phase drive but he is in behind his forwards, calling the shots as they overpower the Scots.
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