Sexton & 6N's rest weekends - back to Racing?

Does anyone know what the situation is with Johnny Sexton in regard to the 6N's rest weekends - will he have to return to Racing who have games on during those rest weekends? (14th Feb v Bayonne and 28th Feb v Castre).

Has he been able to negotiate to remain in the Irish camp for those weekends?

This is nagging me as clearly it has a major effect on him, with an inevitable knock-on effect on the team and on Schmidt's selection (and rest) policy.

Yeah it isnt ideal and was a stupid decision from the start. He does have some clauses in his contract re international duty and racing seem reasonable enough re resting him every now and then. To answer your question though, I dont know. Sorry.

He probably ends up back in Top14 and on the bench for those games, playing about 25 minutes as a sub at the end of the game. If he wants to earn that big paycheck of his he will have to go back and play.

I think he has an agreement with Racing that he can attend any Ireland camp. Last time he went back was an unusual situation because all Racing OHs were injured and he was left on the bench as an unused sub anyway.

Where have you been Siné? Going to the match on Sat?

Sin é wrote:I think he has an agreement with Racing that he can attend any Ireland camp. Last time he went back was an unusual situation because all Racing OHs were injured and he was left on the bench as an unused sub anyway.

Thanks Sin é, I certainly hope that that is the case! There have been no murmurs to the contrary yet so  

GunsGerms wrote:Where have you been Siné? Going to the match on Sat?

I've been about ...   No, I'm not going to the match on Saturday, but I'm looking forward to it.

Oh right. Well enjoy.

It will be interesting to see if ROG is commentating on Saturday (Racing are away to USAP on Sat at 6.30pm).

Sin é wrote:It will be interesting to see if ROG is commentating on Saturday (Racing are away to USAP on Sat at 6.30pm).

It doesn't look like it:
http://www.rte.ie/ten/listings/41692872_tv_Live_Six_Nations_Rugby_Union

"Tom McGurk is joined by George Hook, Conor O'Shea and Shane Horgan. With commentary by Ryle Nugent and Donal Lenihan, and pitchside reports from Brent Pope."

I have to admit that I'm enjoying watching ROG tip toe his way in to the world of the media. He is unerringly accurate (some things don't change!) and there is always the potential for a furnace blast of honesty.

ROG has been excellent. Shaggy is good but he does trot out a few too many cliches, ROG is very direct, no BS.

Thought it was gas after the game when he was saying that himself and Conor were discussing something during the game, no point in talking to Hooky about anything rugby related like.

Yes, I love when ROG is on RTE because the other pundits do a very professional job of keeping a straight face during Hooks weird monologues but ROGs attitude is much closer to baffled contempt and he makes no attempt to hide it! Awesome.

Of course Sexton should be turning out for his club, he will just get rusty not playing. Actually more is the question why do they have to have a rest weekend after just one game?

Notch wrote:Yes, I love when ROG is on RTE because the other pundits do a very professional job of keeping a straight face during Hooks weird monologues but ROGs attitude is much closer to baffled contempt and he makes no attempt to hide it! Awesome.

Simply brilliant: http://www.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/9802/1/gift_rog

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Actually more is the question why do they have to have a rest weekend after just one game?

The fixture list is two weekend games, one rest weekend, another game, another rest weekend and then the final two games. I do concede that having two rest weekends is perhaps over indulgent, but I would prefer to see well rested teams competing at the highest level rather than wearied teams depleted through attrition.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
 Of course Sexton should be turning out for his club, he will just get rusty not playing.

I doubt that he will get rusty in that short time frame, especially considering that he will be fully involved in the Irish camp. Part of my concern is that I'm well aware of the effect of commuting between Paris & Dublin. The travelling itself takes time, there is a one hour timezone difference (it is a very minor difference but it does affect routines & sleep patterns). and more relevantly travelling is stressful, and as most experienced travelers will know is associated with a higher incidence of falling sick (through stress and exposure to more germs). The cumulative effect of this all is relatively small (if he doesn't fall sick!), say 5% to 8%, but in international games of close margins it will have an effect. And there of course there is the additional risk of getting injured while playing for Racing, and as we saw last Autumn with Sexton multiple successive matches eventually takes their toll on their energy levels.

This is a very selfish, Irish-centric view - I simply want to see Ireland perform at their best this 6N's and a fully fit Sexton is a key, if not critical requirement for success.

How in gods name can he get weary travelling from Dublin to Paris? In the Rugby championship Players can one week be playing South Africa in Johannesburg and the following weekend play Australia in Auckland (about the same number of time zones as flying around the World)

And crossing the English channel would be like flying across Lake Taupo.

Travelling from Dublin to Paris is a tiring experience if you fly Ryanair  

man_of_five wrote:

Notch wrote:Yes, I love when ROG is on RTE because the other pundits do a very professional job of keeping a straight face during Hooks weird monologues but ROGs attitude is much closer to baffled contempt and he makes no attempt to hide it! Awesome.

Simply brilliant: http://www.todayfm.com/player/podcasts/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/The_Ian_Dempsey_Breakfast_Show/9802/1/gift_rog

+1   

Sexton and Philips are both on the bench for this weekend home game against bayonne

aucklandlaurie wrote:
 Of course Sexton should be turning out for his club, he will just get rusty not playing. Actually more is the question why do they have to have a rest weekend after just one game?

To be honest this needs to be on a new thread but is a very good question, it just feels like a lot of momentum is lost with two weekends off. I'd rather the players rested the week before the tournament, played three, had a break and then the final two.