Johnny Sexton has confirmed that he intends to retire after the 2023 World Cup in France. The Irish outhalf and captain has signed a new contract extension with the IRFU to take him up to his fourth World Cup, by which stage he will be 38, before then calling time on one of the great Irish careers by a truly generational player.
“Yeah, finished, 2023 World Cup,” Sexton told the media today in his weekly captain’s briefing before Saturday’s Six Nations fixture against England at Twickenham (kick-off 4.45pm).
“I’m delighted to be able to say it. I’ve been beating around the bush for six months, always nervous talking about the World Cup when you weren’t guaranteed to be there, but I just want to make the most of this last 18 months of my career, and go out on the top. It’s up to me now to work hard and get the body and mind in the best shape possible, and attack the last 18 months.”
Sexton described himself as “very, very happy” to have agreed one final contract to take him through to the World Cup, an ambition he has had since the disappointment of the 2019 tournament.
He has enjoyed huge highs in his career, be it three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam, four Champions Cups with Leinster and becoming only the second Irish player to be named World Player of the Year in 2018.
However, a more successful World Cup is one itch he’d dearly love to scratch after being left on the bench for the 2011 quarter-final, before being ruled out of the 2015 quarter-final and then the heavy loss against New Zealand at the same stage in Japan.
“It was always my intention to try and stay at the top of my game to get myself to a World Cup and I’m very thankful and grateful that I’ve been afforded that opportunity to do it. Now it’s up to me to keep the body in good shape.
“I’m still very driven to get there and perform at the World Cup. That was one of the biggest factors for me. I spoke to a lot of guys who have finished in the game with big regrets over World Cups and I have a chance now to do that.
“It’s obviously a long time away and at this moment we’ve got a lot in front of us to focus on but it’s great to get it sorted.”
Now 36, Sexton talked about the “different one per-centers whether in your diet or your recovery” in explaining his longevity and how he learned from the examples of Brad Thorn – “I played with Brad and took a lot from him” – Rory Best, Paul O’Connell, Brian O’Driscoll, Peter Stringer and Donncha O’Callaghan.
“I am just very hungry to stay in the international set-up. I don’t want to go out with a whimper, I want to go out at the top. So, whatever it is, 18 more months to make the most of a career. Yeah, hopefully we can finish on a high.”
Asked what foods or drink he’d most look forward to in retirement, Sexton smiled and said: “It’s a balance. You still find time in your routine to have the odd beer with your brother or friends or team-mates, or a glass of wine. You can still do that as a professional rugby player, you can just do it a little bit more often – which is the dangerous thing – when you retire.
“I’d say when I do retire, I’ll miss everything about the game. It’s an absolute dream to do what I’ve done, and to do it for so long is incredible. I pinch myself every day. I’m just very grateful to keep it going. When I hang up the boots I’ll be like a lost puppy for the first while, but I’ll find something else to throw myself into . . . Golf maybe?”
In the shorter-term, there is the more pressing business with England this Saturday in what amounts to a title eliminator. New Ireland appears more evolved than New England, but this is cancelled out by the Twickenham factor, where England have lost only twice in the Six Nations in the last 10 years.
So while Eddie Jones has made Ireland favourites and the bookies agree, they do so only by a whisker, either one or two points, in what looks a 50-50 game.
“We don’t really care about favourites or who is the favourites, you know what I mean? It’s irrelevant really,” said Sexton. “We obviously haven’t won that many times over the years there but that’s not to say we can’t do it this time. It’s really down to this game and who can get their best performance out there.
“All our prep has been focused on doing that, realising the task that is at hand, with the atmosphere that is going to hit us. And the intensity that they will bring to the game and preparing to try and play our best under severe pressure and conditions. It’s a great test for us and we’ll see if we’ve learned lessons from the French game and if we can adapt and play better in an away stadium.”
In his 14 games against England, Sexton has been on the winning side six times and the losing side on the other eight occasions, with a record of two wins and five defeats at Twickenham.
“We haven’t had that many successes at Twickenham over the last 10 years. I think I’ve had a couple of wins in that period. It’s such a tough place to go. When you think about us and you think about how hard we are to beat in the Aviva, it’s the same for every team. It’s such a hard thing to do in international rugby, to go into a hostile environment like this in front of a majority English crowd and perform, and that’s what we’ve got to do.
“That’s our focus. We’ve got to learn lessons from the French game and try and put them into practice and play much better. Obviously England will be looking to get their very best performance out there as well, so it’s going to be a big Test match.”
