Williams: Sexton still ‘brilliant’ despite body letting him down
Daire Walsh
Former Leinster and Ulster coach Matt Williams has full faith that the Irish backroom team can get team captain Jonathan Sexton up to his optimum level of fitness at the forthcoming World Cup in France.
Due to a combination of injury and suspension, Ireland’s Pool B clash with Romania at Stade de Bordeaux on September 9 will be all of 175 days on from Sexton’s most recent competitive outing – the Grand Slam clincher against England on March 18.
Given his lack of match practice, it is more than likely he will feature in the Romanian game, something that may not necessarily have been the case had he featured in the recent warm-up games. Yet William expects that Sexton will be able to get up to speed quite quickly, thanks in no small part to the work of Jason Cowman, the Irish national team’s head of athletic performance.
“The players are in incredible shape and they’ll have Sexton in great shape. What time he gets against Romania and then maybe against Tonga, they’ll have that measured and have that worked out. He definitely needs time and he wants time, and the team needs him. Because he is still one of the best 10s in the world,” Williams explained at Virgin Media’s World Cup launch.
“His brain is still brilliant, it’s his body letting him down like Cian [Healy]. His body is just letting him down, it’s what happens when you get older. You just hope his body gets him through those games.
“He’ll definitely start against South Africa if he’s fit. It’s how they get him to what they consider is as best as they can for that South African game that will determine how much time he does against Romania and then Tonga.”
Whereas Sexton’s suspension was for an off-field matter, there have been a number of bans handed out in recent times for incidents that occurred during the heat of battle.
Owen Farrell is set to miss out on England’s two games at the World Cup as part of a punishment for his challenge on Taine Basham in a showdown with Wales on August 12 and Billy Vunipola will also be marked absent for their pivotal tournament opener against Argentina for his red tackle on Ireland’s Andrew Porter seven days later.
Speaking on various platforms throughout the week, Australian native Williams said he would like World Rugby to intervene and ensure teams can’t name seven forwards on the bench in international tests – as South Africa did in their victory over New Zealand last weekend.
He also believes the governing body could take measures to prevent the number of high tackles that are currently being seen in the game.
“I don’t know anyone who is not talking about this, who doesn’t think this is a major topic for the future of the game. The fear that is out there in the rugby community over it. Again, World Rugby is not doing enough,” said Williams.
“If you play rugby league in Australia and you do a high tackle, you’re fined and suspended. They’ve got to start bringing this into rugby union.
“It’s not just the players, the coaches need to be fined, the organisation needs to be fined.
“There has to be a sanction in place that’s more than just a yellow card and 10 minutes in the bin, it’s just not working.
“If the CEO is getting a €50,000 fine he’s going to go to his staff and say, ‘listen, you’ve got to change that’.
“The defensive coaches and those coaching the breakdown need to take responsibility as well.”