Former Munster and Ireland player Ronan O'Gara joined Off The Ball AM on Friday to discuss Jonathan Sexton and Ireland.
New Zealand obliterated Wales on Saturday.
It was the touring side's first game in the Northern Hemisphere. New Zealand won 54-16 as Wales played without many of their key starters. The biggest win for a Welsh man on the day was a youtuber. Wales went in undermanned and undercooked against a New Zealand side that predictably showed no mercy.
While the game served as an unwanted and unneeded reminder for the losers, it was a threat to Andy Farrell's Ireland.
Prior to the start of the November Internationals, there was some discussion about who should start each game. Playing Japan first meant Ireland had an opportunity to blood some less experienced players. Starting the likes of Joey Carbery over Jonathan Sexton against Japan made sense.
But if Farrell plays an experimental side against Japan, his starting team against New Zealand will then be going into the game cold. There have been five rounds of United Rugby Championship fixtures, no Irish starter will have played every game for their province. Even if they had, they'd still have two weeks off before playing New Zealand.
Two weeks off this early in the season isn't helpful like it is late in the year, because it's more likely to cause disjointed play and unforced errors.
If Ireland are going to match New Zealand's intensity and avoid being blown out in two weeks, they can't start the substitutes against Japan. They must start the foundation of the same team in both games. Whether that means Johnny Sexton or Joey Carbery is to be determined.
Ronan O'Gara sees Sexton as Ireland's best out half right now.
"Johnny has proven at the start of this season that he's a serious competitor," O'Gara said.
"I like his language, he said 'I'm taking it game-by-game' and that's what you've got to do at that age. If he's the best game-by-game, then someone's got to take it from him and we know how much of a competitor he is. I like his mentality and that's the reality."
But that doesn't mean Sexton is Ireland's solution for the next World Cup. It's a very difficult balance for Andy Farrell over the coming weeks. Farrell will make commitments one way or another based on who he starts in these games. He still won't actually know who is his best option moving forward.
O'Gara empathizes with Farrell's quandary.
"You can build for the future, but if in Test rugby then you're building for the future as a coach you may not have a job. So Johnny has said 'I want to play' and he's proven that he's the best at the minute. Whether that lasts for two years I think none of us know and he probably doesn't know either.
"Two years is a long time. It's an awful long time in sport. It can change very, very quickly.
"It's very, very difficult to play Test rugby well at that age."
Sexton is playing well now though, until he proves otherwise it's hard to look past him.
Doris is confident concussion treatment was right decision.
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