'It could have been a lot worse' - Ireland legend on Johnny Sexton ban

Former Ireland back-row Alan Quinlan has admitted the three-match suspension for Johnny Sexton “could have been a lot worse” as he reacted to the news.

Speaking on Off The Ball, the ex-flanker gave his view on the show after it was confirmed that the captain would be available for the Rugby World Cup.

Sexton’s punishment means he’ll miss Ireland’s warm-up games against Italy, England and Samoa but can return for their pool opener with Romania.

Quinlan was clearly relieved with the decision as he was asked his take on Sexton’s suspension, which has caused plenty of debate throughout the sport.

“I’d say everyone is pretty happy with it just being three games,” said the former Munster and Ireland blindside flank. “It could have been a lot worse.

“It has taken a long time and that was surprising it took this long to first of all get to the hearing since the game was played back in May,” he continued.

“I think it’s the best possible outcome from an Irish Rugby World Cup point of view.”

Sexton will now have to rely on training alone to get himself fully fit for the 2023 World Cup as Quinlan spoke further about the three-game suspension.

“Obviously I always thought he was going to get some sort of a suspension. He got the minimum essentially. The mitigation and early admission and his disciplinary record (being clean), it would have been six matches, that’s what the report says so they are the facts,” he explained.

“There’s a bit of a sigh of relief here. Ireland and Leinster have the right to appeal, I don’t think there will be any appeal, I think it will be taken, accepted and moved on.”

While Sexton will be free to play in the team’s full Rugby World Cup campaign, one negative for the player is that he won’t get a farewell on home soil.

“It’s a shame for Johnny Sexton in a sense that he’s not going to play again in Ireland essentially,” said Quinlan, who played 27 times for his country.

“It’s a pity he doesn’t get any kind of send-off as it would have been nice for him from Irish point of view for him to play in the Aviva Stadium again.”

The former back-row was also asked his opinion on whether Sexton would be able to hit the ground running after such a long period out of the game.

“It is certainly not ideal but he’s proven over the years that he has the ability to slot straight into big internationals and play really well,” he added.

“Not every player can do that. Some players are the exception over the years. I think we saw with Sean O’Brien a little bit and a couple of times with Cian Healy. Certain people can probably get away with that.

“It’s not ideal for everyone. I think if you were a back-row and you’re asking me could I do it if I hadn’t played for a number of weeks, the matches make you fit and sharper, but I suppose for a player of his age it’s all about in the mind and what kind of training and conditioning he’ll be doing.”

???? Ireland captain Johnny Sexton handed three-game ban. #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/1MdIiOi5es

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) July 16, 2023

The question will now be how Ireland map out Sexton’s return at the tournament, with Romania and Tonga their openers before the Boks and Scotland.

“Obviously Romania is an easier start for Ireland so you’ll imagine that’s where he’ll get his preparation for hopefully the latter parts of the tournament and the Scotland and South Africa games,” Quinlan explained.

“Tonga obviously that’s no kind of ‘ease your way into’ match because they showed last Friday when they beat a strong Australia ‘A’ team and have a lot of strong players so that’s going to be a tricky match for Ireland.”

He added: “I don’t think Ireland will panic about this, I don’t think Johnny Sexton will. He’s capable of being sharp and ready but you do need matches as that boosts confidence and cohesion and yes, I feel he will have some involvement, it depends what happens with Romania.

“Does he play the 80 minutes? Does he play 60 minutes and then play half a match against Tonga? But then you can’t be chopping and changing just to protect one player and get him right.

“Listen, Johnny Sexton is the type of guy who could play against Romania and not be involved with Tonga at all and then come back for South Africa and be just fine.

“He’s really important for Ireland, that’s the fact of the matter, but who knows how they’re all training and what’s happening behind the scenes and how ready he will be.

“Ideally you want to be in the best shape of your life going to a World Cup so it’ll be interesting to see what happens, but I think there will certainly be a sigh of relief here.”

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