IRELAND will have their captain Johnny Sexton available for selection this Saturday for their Six Nations clash with Italy.
Sexton was absent from Ireland’s loss to France in the Aviva stadium that saw the Irish fall to defeat in a second consecutive game to start the competition.
But the out-half says he is rearing to go ahead of the trip to Rome as Ireland look for a first win of the campaign.
“Obviously was very disappointed to miss out on the French game. It was a game that I really wanted to play in, but just didn’t quite get there.
“Didn’t hit the return-to-play protocol markers. Had to wait a little bit longer and was back training fully last week and fully this week. Good to go.”
Despite the reversal to France, Sexton says his side created plenty of opportunities against the French and were unlucky not to come away with the result.
“Very early on in the French game, there was a few chances where we needed to shift the ball and there was other times that we shifted it well into space. Then the space closed up and we should have put it in behind.
“There’s lots of examples that we’ve gone through as a team and with individuals in small groups and we said it wasn’t good enough for international standard.
“Despite all those things, we still came within a penalty from winning the game and there’s a few penalties in that last phase of play that we could have gotten. In terms of offsides and stuff like that.
“That’s the frustrating thing, but the things we can control is being better at seeing the space and when we do create the opportunities, that we make the most of them and we’re clinical.
“It will be the same against Italy. The coaches have come in and they’ve done a fantastic job. It’s very different to what it was before, but we will be better for this going forward. Of that I’m convinced.
“If we talk about World Cup cycles, I might not be a part of the full cycle, but this group will definitely be better for this type of coaching and structures.”
Jonathan Sexton
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
And after suffering two defeats already, Sexton is hoping Ireland can finally kickstart their season this weekend against Italy.
“We’re very focused on trying to get some better performances out there and cohesion. The better performances will hopefully lead to better results and that’s all we’re focused on.
“Maybe Andy will change a few players, I don’t know. There was a couple of changes, we were changing in and out a lot today. Selection is very much still up for grabs.
“No team has been announced in this environment yet. It really adds to training because guys are competing with each other and guys are fighting for places. It was a good day today. A good start to the week.
“We had a good day yesterday and a big day tomorrow. Our big training day tomorrow. The team will be announced and then it will be over to Rome. Hopefully a good performance and a result.”
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