Leinster and Ireland se Johnny Sexton. (Photo: Twitter.)
After 189 games for Leinster, Johnny Sexton admitted he may have already played his last game for his beloved club.
The 37-year-old flyhalf suffered a groin injury in Ireland’s final Six Nations match against England and he has been on the sidelines ever since. And with the World Cup around the corner, he will throw everything into the battle to fire on all pistons for the national team in France.
“It’s not fun to miss Leinster games. People will tell me that I still have the World Cup to look forward to and I do, but what I’m trying to get across is that playing for Leinster meant as much to me as playing for Ireland. Or at least almost as much,” Sexton said in an interview with the The Times said.
Exclusive interview with Johnny Sexton in today’s @TimesSport:
‘I wish the 40 games I played for Racing had been for Leinster, I’d be happier as a one-club man.’https://t.co/59v0rqAJnh
— Peter O’Reilly (@petersuntimes) April 9, 2023
The strong Irish club just last weekend settled with the Leicester Tigers to qualify for the semi-final of the Champions Cup.
The evergreen number ten player had previously played a decisive role in the Dublin team’s European successes in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018.
So Sexton is used to holding up the silverware and he undoubtedly has the Webb Ellis trophy in his sights; a title that has so far eluded the Irish.
He also laughed off fears that Ireland reached the top of the wave a little too early with its Grand Slam success in the Six Nations series and that they will fight for World Cup glory without much momentum.
“It is not a requirement to perform poorly in the Six Nations to win the World Cup. When England won the final against the Wallabies in 2003, they were also unbeaten in the Six Nations series. We just have to keep our feet on the ground and try to build on our success.”
Leinster play the Lions in a United Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday.
???? | How the #BKTURC table stands ahead of our trip to Emirates Lions. #FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/IjGkUQmvUw
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) April 11, 2023
