Joe molly saying the ref not giving the bok ten a yellow card led to James Ryan doing what he done 
Joe is surely beering with those lads
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Jonny seems to be insinuating something here.
Certain people seem to have their way with how game is going’ – Johnny Sexton says law changes weren’t thought through
Summarise
As a player, Johnny Sexton would probably have made the most out of rugby’s new direction centred around a kick-heavy approach.
For all that Sexton was a master at running the Leinster and Ireland game-plan to an inch of its detail, he was, of course, an excellent kicker within that.
That’s partly why Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was so keen to have Sexton in his backroom team as soon as he retired following the 2023 World Cup. While he took a bit of convincing via a job in the ‘real world’, the former out-half is now a full-time member of staff, whose responsibilities are already stretching beyond the initial remit of kicking.
Although Ireland’s kicking game was outstanding in the win over Australia, Farrell’s side struggled to get it going in the face of South Africa’s blitz defence last weekend.
“The ball in the air was huge,” Sexton says, reflecting on Ireland’s 24-13 defeat to the Springboks.
“I suppose the kicking game now is as much about receiving kicks as it is sending them as well. Obviously, you think about the quality of the kick when we’re talking about the kicking game, but in terms of receiving, it was something that they did very well.
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“We were down to 12 men and they were still kicking the ball in the air, which just shows where the game has gone with not being allowed to escort back. The rules have just flipped fully.”
At this point, we ask Sexton if he is a fan of the new laws and, by extension, the direction rugby is heading?
“Yes, in some ways, because it’s a contest and that’s what they want. They want to see everything as a contest,” Sexton says, before getting to the nub of the issue.
“It was designed to get the ball in play more and to create more rugby, but it’s just led to teams kicking more and to way more scrums, which take one or two minutes out of the game. I don’t really think it was that well thought through.
Canan Moodie of South Africa competes in the air with Ireland’s James Lowe. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
“But we know where it was driven from, we know where it came from, which is no surprise because that tends to happen now. Certain people seem to have their way with how the game is going. I don’t think many other people get consulted.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who Sexton may be alluding to, especially in light of last weekend’s stop/start fest at the Aviva Stadium, where South Africa scrummaged the life out of Ireland in a game that took a staggering two hours and 10 minutes to complete.
For all the gripes people may have about the manner in which the Springboks play, the reality is, they are abiding by the law, even if the law is an ass in this instance.
Ireland currently have enough on their plate without worrying about potential law tweaks. However, Sexton was quick to downplay concerns around the scrum, which conceded six penalties and coughed up four unused advantages against the power of the Springboks pack.
“No, because in my eyes it’s a one-off,” Sexton insists.
“That’s never happened to our scrum before. I know we’ve got good people involved in that department, and a lot of work has been done there. So they’ll come up with solutions, they’ll come up with fixes.
“There were a couple of brilliant scrums that we didn’t get rewarded for at key parts of the game, which was disappointing. But sometimes it’s very hard to change when the scrum has gone a certain way for an early part of the match. If you fix it for a couple, it’s almost unbelievable, and we don’t get the rub of the green.
Referee Matthew Carley signals for a penalty as the scrum collapses. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
“I’m sure the lads will fix it, and, as I said, it’s never happened before, so I wouldn’t expect it to happen again soon.”
Like Farrell, Sexton was proud of the fight Ireland showed to stop South Africa running up an even bigger score.
“In terms of the character that was shown, it was absolutely outstanding,” Sexton maintains.
“I think that is something that we can definitely take away from the game as a positive. The guts, the determination. As a supporter, that is the minimum that you want to see from any Irish team, and they produced it in spades.
“It’s something that we’ve been referencing, and something that the lads showed. They showed unbelievable fight, problem-solving, just guts. I was pretty proud on Saturday after the game in terms of being associated with that group of men.
“It was pretty inspiring from that point of view, but also you’ve got to go, ‘OK, how did we get ourselves into that situation? What can we do better?’
“There’s always a balance. I think as coaches, that’s something that they’d be quite good at. They can be people on one hand and then be coaches on another and say, very proud, but lads, this isn’t good enough here.
“There’s definitely a balance to all that, but, like I said, to hold them out with 12 men, with 13 men, to win the second half, all those little positives, we definitely have to use them going forward.”
Sexton is hoping those positives bear fruit in time for Ireland’s Six Nations opener in Paris on February 5.
“In many ways, our [coaches’] focus is already on the Six Nations,” he adds.
“I think Saturday’s game in particular will be a massive reference point for us as we play South Africa this time next year again. So to see the team, how much they can improve and evolve, it’ll be great.
“I’m sure South Africa will come back, and it’ll be a great match for us to say, ‘Look how far we’ve come in these 12 months,’ or hopefully we have.”
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A dig at Felix jones who wasn’t an offered a contract by the irfu bizarrely last year
Sexton is a complete cunt.
Where was that?
Where was what exactly
The dig at felix
He’s talking about Rassie id have thought
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No it’s Felix jones.
After he left the boks he was on the panel for the rules changes or at least was advising them.
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Interesting, wasnt aware of that.
Still is involved somewhat but so are lots of coaches is my understanding as they look at the impact of the various rules in practical terms
Id be sure sexton is talking about Rassie. Zero love lost there either direction
I would have thought he was talking about NZ.
“It was designed to get the ball in play more and to create more rugby, but it’s just led to teams kicking more and to way more scrums, which take one or two minutes out of the game. I don’t really think it was that well thought through.
“But we know where it was driven from, we know where it came from, which is no surprise because that tends to happen now. Certain people seem to have their way with how the game is going. I don’t think many other people get consulted.”
Gervais Thornley interview with Casper “The truth” Gabriel in the Irish times today.
Casper could guide the goys to a knock out game win at RWC 2’27
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Belting welch anthem there. Epic tune.
Gerry reckons Ireland can’t entirely blame the referees for all of their losses. Just mostly.
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Swathes of empty seats in Cardiff.
It’s as if they knew what was coming
Rumours of Welsh rugby’s renaissance have been greatly exaggerated, I’m afraid. Reality has dawned once again for the poor old Welsh.
Moodie is lucky this game isn’t an actual contest
He wasn’t in control of that ball imo