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Johnny Sexton undermined head coach Andy Farrell with his reaction to being replaced in their Six Nations loss to France, Eddie O’Sullivan believes.
The Ireland captain retired at the Stade de France with just over 10 minutes to play his team behind Les Bleus by eight points. A six point margin of victory would have been enough for Ireland to win the tournament entirely.
Visibly disappointed to be retired, Sexton, designated as the patron by Farrell at the start of the Six Nations, shook his head and appeared to look towards the Irish management team, indicating that he did not agree with the decision.
When asked about it afterward, half of Leinster said: “I was very disappointed to come out, as everyone would be.
“You’re losing the game and you’re coming out, so what would you like me to do when I walk off the court? I’m sorry I wasn’t delighted to come out.”
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Two former Irish captains, Keith Wood and Brian O’Driscoll, speaking at Newstalk, said Sexton was off duty.
Farrell and Sexton are scheduled to hold a joint press conference on Thursday morning with Ireland preparing to face Wales in the opening match of the Fall Nations Cup in Dublin on Friday week.
“The first thing is that I would not have replaced him … but that’s neither here nor there. That’s Andy Farrell’s decision,” O’Sullivan, who coached Ireland from 2001 to 2008, told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
[Johnny’s] The position is under scrutiny in terms of how it reacts to things.
“For me, his reaction was the worst possible reaction. I understand that he was upset, I understand that he was upset.
“But for the good of the team and to show leadership and captaincy, he has to hold back, it’s not a big deal.
“You go to the bench, you sit down, you give yourself up and then after the game you go to Andy Farrell and say ‘I want to talk to you.’
“You have your debate with Farrell, he explains his case and this is how you do it.
“The carriage is not thrown under the bus, leaving the field.
“He has to know more than that, he has to know that his reaction is going to be magnified and he has to know that by doing what he did, he weakened [replacement Ross Byrne], undermined the team and undermined the coach.
“You should apologize to Farrell.
“It was an incredibly bad decision. I think he knew what he was doing, I don’t think it was an accident and I think it has damaged his relationship now, whether we like it or not, with the team and with the coach.”
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