Sexton "ready to go" for Ireland vs Wallabies

Irish fans will breathe a sigh of the relief with the news that inspirational captain and flyhalf Johnny Sexton looks to be ready for action this weekend against Australia after a nervous wait on a leg injury.

 The 37 year-old sat out last weekend as Ireland took on Fiji, but the match also yielded an injury to back-up flyhalf Joey Carbery, which left Ireland with a troubling situation on the number 10 channel.

“Yeah, (the leg is) good," said Sexton. “I trained today and ready to go.

"Last week was a bit of a struggle with swelling and fluid and stuff like that.

"It was just managing that and then making sure I get the right amount of training in this week to be able to perform but also not do too much that swells it up again. It’s good to go, feels good and I’m ready.”

Reflecting on the 35-17 victory over Fiji, Sexton said:

“It certainly wasn’t at the level that we want and expect of each other,” Sexton continued.

“It’s a collective thing and something we need to try and put right this week against a team that will be hurting from the Italian game but also a team that was a couple of minutes away from beating France in France, which is obviously a tough thing to do, every other team has found that out as well.

“It’s not really about a clean sweep. It’s just about the next game and getting a brilliant performance out there.

"When you get to international rugby, it’s about winning, of course, but you’re never truly satisfied until you play well and you win.

"And then you can be content in the dressing room after and enjoy a beer together.

"But when you don’t play well and you win, you might as well be in a losing dressing room – well, not quite, but nearly.”

Finally, Sexton shared his thoughts on being nominated for the coveted 2022 Player of the Year award.

"It’s always nice to be recognised like that, I’m not going to lie.

"It’s not something you go searching for but to be recognised in that area is very special.

"I would prefer a win and to play well on Saturday than win that, because ultimately at the end of the day, it’s opinion - whereas what you produce on Saturday is what it is, what you see, and it’s the only thing you can control."