“I’ll work towards getting into the real world and start another life” – Johnny Sexton

"Emm, nearly, yeah, nearly, nearly, nearly."

Johnny Sexton has a fair idea of what he will be doing after he hangs up his playing boots. He does not want to broadcast his plans, but insists it will not be a pivot into rugby coaching or punditry. Sexton will turn 36 in July - when he may be on his third British & Irish Lions tour - and he knows the end is in sight. The Ireland captain is still cursing former teammate Isa Nacewa for suggesting to the media that he could stride on until he was in his early 40s. He would very happily play out the rest of his career without having to hear his name and Tom Brady's in the same sentence. During his captain's briefing, ahead of Saturday's Six Nations date with Italy, Sexton intimated that he may not be around for the 2023 World Cup [when he would be 38].

"The coaches have come in and have done a fantastic job. It's very different to what it was before, but we will be better for it... of that I'm convinced. We talk about World Cup cycles. I might not be part of it for the whole cycle, but this team will be better for the coaching and structures."

Johnny Sexton saying he could be finished by June 2022 - or even 12 months on but without a World Cup to plan for - was never going to be allowed rest, so he faced several more questions about his future. Asked if he was going to get into coaching or punditry, he remarks, "None of the above! I have a fair idea what I’ll be doing. Yeah, you never tell anyone your plans because they can change, can’t they?" Sexton insists it has allows been others, and not him, that have driven the playing past 40 narrative.