Andy Farrell insists Johnny Sexton’s presence a positive for young 10s

The former captain is balancing his day job with Ardagh Glass with a consultancy gig with Ireland, dropping into camp to work on the team’s high-ball strategy and place-kicking while mentoring Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley and Ciarán Frawley.

That last part has raised eyebrows, with some observers wondering if the presence of the recently retired No 10 would loom over players who are doing their best to come out from under his shadow.

Farrell has heard such talk and reckons it’s nonsense. He only sees upside in the great man’s involvement.

While he’s careful with the way he words his answers around the role, the Ireland head coach clearly believes there’s a path for Sexton to follow into coaching, if he wants to pursue it.

And the door is open for him to do so as part of Farrell’s set-up.

“I know, I’ve heard that said by a few,” Farrell said of the concern over Sexton casting a shadow. “That couldn’t be any further from the truth. Honestly, these guys love sharing their thoughts and even more importantly, Johnny sharing his thoughts on them.

​“All he’s trying to do, and they 100 per cent know this, is to be there to help them, and they appreciate that.”

Sexton hasn’t been formally announced as part of the set-up and hasn’t been at any of the training sessions open to the cameras and hasn’t been part of the coaching group on match nights.

That, Farrell says, could change.

“It could do down the line. At the minute, again, it’s when he can fit it in around his schedule as well, but the consultancy part now is working really well,” he said. “It’s defined at the minute.

“How I went about my start as a coach, it was open enough because things are allowed to grow organically, but as far as roles and coming in and finding his feet, obviously place-kicking is one [area].

“He’s taken hold of the high-ball stuff and the mentoring of players that you would expect him to mentor and advise and being around the whole group, being another voice within the squad or another brain within, sharing ideas etc.

“I’ve seen a big improvement because you know Johnny, he wouldn’t want to come in all screaming and, ‘Look at me, I’m here’.

“He’s come in softly at the start and he’s certainly building through it now, and we see a lot of improvement in the areas that he’s coaching at the minute.”

Asked if Sexton could continue beyond this window, Farrell said: “It could do down the line.

“At the minute, again, it’s when he can fit it in around his schedule as well, but the consultancy part now is working really well.”

Ireland are likely to need some coaching support when Farrell steps away for the Six Nations and the summer tour and it’s unclear whether Sexton will have the capacity to be involved in both given his schedule, but you sense the IRFU are giving him a taste in the hope that he decides to get back into rugby full-time.

Prendergast is given the nod for tomorrow’s game against Fiji, with Frawley back on the bench. Farrell says his message to the new faces in his match-day 23 is that selection for the final game of this window against Joe Schmidt’s Australia is wide open.

“Four games at this level on the trot is tough enough,” he said. “It’s always in the back of our minds. We’re looking at energy levels, how people are turning up at training on a daily basis, how they’re marking down their wellness, and the chats that we have along the way.

“Performance matters. It should matter. So, we certainly haven’t picked a side for next week. The performance comes from the experienced lads, the lads that we expect to perform. It’s up to them to show the way.

“I’ve no doubt in the young lads who are getting the first or second, or an important, opportunity.

“They’ll be carried along through the fight and the grit of the others being the best version of themselves. So, there’s a responsibility in that regard.”

Jamie Osborne is one of those players given a big chance to stake a claim for a starting spot and Farrell is clearly a fan of the Naas native, who turned 23 last week.

​He starts at full-back, but Farrell won’t pigeon-hole him in any one spot because of his ability.

“He’s good at all the positions we know he can play,” the coach said. “He’s just a good rugby player who’s getting better. He’s getting better because he’s trusting himself more at this type of level.

“You’ve seen how he attacked the second Test compared to the first Test in South Africa and how he’s attacked these two games coming off the bench has been great.

“Not just that, he picks things up very quickly and he shows that, certainly within training, and we’re seeing that now transferring into the international field, which is difficult.

“He’s maturing as far as his body is concerned. He’s a force, isn’t he? He’s hard to stop, he’s some frame on him and he’s going to keep getting better with the more exposure that we give him.”

Seven changes was the upper limit for Farrell, who admitted that he felt for Dave Heffernan, Nick Timoney and Calvin Nash who have yet to play in this window.

“It’s tough,” he admitted. “You put in a few debutants in the game, you need a strong team around them.

“You’d love to give everyone exposure, but that’s not my job. My job is to do the best for Irish rugby, and the team is right at the top of that.”