Eddie O’Sullivan believes that Johnny Sexton needs to ‘recalibrate’ as a player prior to the World Cup and has cast doubts over his suitability for Ireland.
Eddie spoke to us as part of Wednesday Night Rugby, as Ireland look to come to terms with a poor tournament by their own high standards – and to his mind, no one will be in more contemplative mood than Ireland’s number 10.
“I think Johnny has had a poor Championship – I suppose it was impossible that he was going to replicate last year,” said O’Sullivan.
“But I do believe that he has to recalibrate his attitude on the field. I have talked about before that I think that he is a great player in that he drives people around – he has very high standards himself.
“I don’t think that he’s a particularly good captain because he falls out with referees and chides players a lot, publicly.”
Eddie believes that Sexton’s peccadilloes are easily overlooked when his form is excellent, but that people are quick to point them out when performances begin to wane.
“I just think that his body language is poor – he is showing his frustrations himself – and I think he has to think about that and get away from that image that he has created for himself.
“I don’t think it helps the team when he does that. I think he helps the team best when he is on top of his game.”
After this Six Nations in particular, Ireland fans will be hoping that Sexton regains his composure and form in good time for the flight to Japan.
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