Rugby World Cup 2023: Ireland talisman Johnny Sexton ready for last dance

He will stride on to the Stade de Bordeaux pitch having not kicked a ball competitively in nearly six months.

Sexton’s readiness was an inevitable topic during his pre-match media duties. Sitting beside head coach Andy Farrell, the 38-year-old was asked if he has adjusted his kicking sessions since having groin surgery.

“I haven’t changed much,” said Sexton.

“The early stages, I had to be very careful on the back of the surgeon’s advice, just making sure I built into it, but over the last month I’ve been able to practice a good bit and trying to keep it little and often really.

“Trying to do bits every day, even on a day off today, trying to get down for 20 minutes and do a little bit and then move on.

“I’m very happy with where I’m at, obviously going into a game a little bit different but hopefully I can lean back on experiences from before.”

Experiences? There have been a few in his 113 caps. Sexton has come a long way with Ireland. In the years after stepping out of O’Gara’s shadow, he masterfully positioned himself as Ireland’s conductor-in-chief. The metronome. The standard-setter. The inspiration. Then, finally, the leader.

He once played in an Ireland team that lost 60-0 to New Zealand. It remains Ireland’s darkest hour. Such humiliation would be enough to swallow some players up.

Not Sexton. The following year, in 2013, he left Leinster for Racing Metro. It proved a nightmarish venture, but he continued to thrive at Test level, emerging as a key figure in the British and Irish Lions’ successful tour to Australia before starring in Ireland’s Six Nations triumph – his first – in 2014.

Three more titles followed, the second of which kick-started his annus mirabilis in 2018 when he starred in Ireland’s Grand Slam, a first series win in Australia in 39 years, a memorable defeat of the All Blacks in Dublin and Champions Cup and Pro14 successes with Leinster, earning him World Rugby’s player of the year award.

Five years on and his prominence is still incontestable. Not even a Lions snub in 2021, which he admitted “hurt like hell”, could dim his desire to reach new heights.

His longevity in the cut-throat Test battleground has been both a blessing and a curse. Ireland have always been able to rely on him, but his shadow has loomed large over his potential successors down the years, with Joey Carbery the most high-profile casualty.

The next few weeks in France will be a golden chance for Ross Byrne, Sexton’s long-time understudy at Leinster, and newcomer Jack Crowley to audition for the number 10 jersey.

But make no mistake, even at 38 – the third-oldest World Cup player ever – Sexton is still Ireland’s main man in France. For him, it’s all been building to this.