Johnny Sexton offered Ireland role ahead of All Blacks clash

Former captain and defender Johnny Sexton could return to the Ireland squad as a consultant, according to reports.

The 39-year-old ended his professional rugby career at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, playing his final game in the quarter-final defeat to the All Blacks.

Since his retirement, Sexton has entered the business world and is chief of staff at Ardagh Glass, after admitting he would not take on a coaching role following his retirement.

He explained that it “wouldn’t be right” to coach many of the players he played with, but he could take on a consultancy role as early as the Autumn Nations Series.

Ireland host New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia at the Aviva Stadium in November and Sexton could be tasked with helping the team’s young defenders as well as potential new captain Caelan Doris.

Sexton ready for Ireland return?

A report from the Irish times claims that no agreement has been finalized yet, but that IRFU management has contacted Sexton about taking on a part-time mentoring role.

He adds that he would have a small contribution during the Six Nations, but that he could take up the role as early as November this year.

The scope of the role will be relatively narrow, with Sexton assisting inexperienced – at international level – fly-halves Jack Crowley, Kieran Frawley and Sam Prendergast, helping players with their shooting and advising the trio on other aspects of the game.

He would not be with the team full-time but would spend a few hours a week passing on some of the knowledge gained during his glittering career, which included 118 Ireland caps and 1,108 points.

It should also be noted that Ireland do not have a specialist kicking coach – something Sexton could help with.

This would not be a groundbreaking move by Ireland, as Dan Carter and Richie McCaw are still regularly seen attending All Blacks training and have worked with the players.

The same applies in England as Jonny Wilkinson often works with the kickers, doing so during Eddie Jones’ tenure and has continued to provide contributions to Steve Borthwick’s team.

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“I had some conversations”

In a recent appearance on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Sexton admitted he will “never say never” about returning to the game.

“What I was facing after rugby was, ‘What do I do next?’ So I had this opportunity in front of me,” he said.

“Could I have stayed in the game? Probably. I had a few conversations, nothing very concrete. I’ve had approaches saying, ‘Would you be interested in being part of this?’

“If you put a gun to my head I would love it, but I have three children, we live in Dublin, they love their grandparents, they love the schools they go to.

“I also love being in Dublin. I’ve lived there all my life, except for the two years I was in Paris, and I want to be there.

“You can only coach two teams in the world, Leinster or Ireland, which you can’t do straight away. You need to diversify, learn new paths, learn new methods, learn a new culture.

“I would be very firm in my ways – the coaches I had influenced me on those two teams.

“You need to freshen up. If I were to go back and work with the players, you would need to come back with some new ideas, otherwise it would be useless to them.”

READ MORE: Johnny Sexton reveals why coaching Leinster or Ireland would be ‘pointless’ as great midfielder opens up for post-retirement ‘battle’