Jonathan Sexton
.jpg) | |||
| Date of birth | 11 July 1985 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 92 kilograms (14.5 st) | ||
| School | St Mary's College | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fly-half | ||
| Amateur clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| St Mary's College RFC | |||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2006–2013 2013–present |
 Leinster Racing Métro 92 |
110 19 |
(1,027) 16t (173) 2t |
| correct as of 29 January 2014. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2004 2005-2006 2009-present 2009–present 2013 |
Ireland Schools Ireland U-21s Ireland Wolfhounds  IrelandBritish and Irish Lions |
5 10 10 39 3 |
(314) 3t (5) 1t |
| correct as of 4 February 2014. | |||
Jonathan 'Johnny' Sexton is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for Racing Métro 92 and Ireland. Sexton is registered to Racing Metro 92. He plays as Fly-half, but has also played at different positions in the back-line.
Early years
Sexton was born in Dublin but has family ties to North Kerry; he is a nephew of former Garryowen, Munster and Ireland rugby player William Sexton.[1] He attended St. Mary's College in Dublin and scored a drop goal in the dying moments of the school's 2002 Leinster Senior Cup final win. His performances at St. Mary's led to Sexton being selected for Leinster. He made his debut against Border Reivers in 2006.
Sexton holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin.
Leinster
Sexton was part of Leinster's Celtic League winning side in 2007–08. On 2 May 2009, he established himself in the Leinster first team replacing the injured Argentine fly-half Felipe Contepomi as an early substitute in the Heineken Cup semi-final to help Leinster beat rivals Munster a convincing 25–6. He then started in Leinster's home match against the Scarlets in the Celtic League, scoring 15 points (including a try) in a man of the match performance.
Contepomi's cruciate ligament injury ruled him out for the rest of Leinster's campaign, he signed for French giants [Stade Francais] the following season. Sexton started the 2009 Heineken Cup Final against Leicester Tigers, and kicked a spectacular drop goal from the halfway line and also kicked the winning penalty (a total of 11 points, 2 penalties, 1 drop goal and 1 conversion). Leinster went on to win their first European Cup 16–19 at Murrayfield.[2]
Upon recovering from a hand injury sustained during the Ireland South Africa autumn international fixture in 2009 Sexton helped Leinster to secure a bonus point win over Brive in the Heineken Cup to take command of their pool. The following week in their pool decider Sexton scored a drop goal in the dying minutes against London Irish at Twickenham to even up the score at eleven all. This secured Leinster a home advantage in the Heineken Cup quarter finals and knocked the Exiles out of the competition. Sexton's ability was highlighted upon his return from injury in the 2010/11 where he helped Leinster recover from a shaky start to the season as a second half substitute in their win over Munster in the Celtic League. Following this victory he helped Leinster to wins over Racing Metro and Saracens in the Heineken Cup. In the second match he received a man of the match award after scoring twenty-five points, including a try, giving his team the top spot in a pool regarded as one of the most competitive in Heineken Cup history. A poll taken by planetrugby.com following these performances suggested that Sexton is currently regarded as the top fly-half in Europe.
During Leinster's 2011 Heineken Cup final against the Northampton Saints, Sexton scored 28 points including 2 tries in a historic comeback, when Leinster beat Northampton 33–22 at the Millennium Stadium after falling 22–6 down at halftime. Sexton won the man of the match award and his second Heineken Cup medal. His 28 points in that match makes him the second-highest scorer in one game in Heineken Cup history. Sexton stated his career-defining performance was dedicated to his late grandfather, John Sexton – the hugely popular Listowel businessman who died a few months earlier.[3]
However, Sexton and Leinster could not snatch the first Heineken Cup and Celtic League double that season, with the club losing to Munster in the Final.
In May 2012 Irish heavyweights Leinster and Sexton achieved their third Heineken Cup triumph in four seasons against Irish rivals Ulster as they established themselves as true giants of the European game. First-half tries by flanker Sean O'Brien and prop Cian Healy put Leinster on the way towards a record-breaking triumph. Leinster's reign as Heineken Cup holders was never seriously threatened in front of almost 82,000 spectators at Twickenham. Jonathan Sexton kicked three conversions and three penalties for a 15-point haul as Leinster became the first team since Leicester Tigers in 2002 to successfully defend the Heineken Cup. When replacement prop Heinke van der Merwe and Sean Cronin scored near full-time it gave Leinster the biggest ever winning margin in a Heineken Cup final, Leinster 42–14 Ulster.[4]
In January 2013 Sexton informed the IRFU he would not be renewing his contract with Leinster. He will leave the province at the end of the 2012/13 season.[5]
2005–06
Sexton began his Leinster Rugby career playing one game in the 2005–06 season, as a result of his performances for St.Mary's. He came on as a substitute against the Border Reivers.
2006–07
Sexton played three games in the 2006–07 season playing against Ospreys in which he scored a conversion against the Welsh team. He played twelve minutes in that match. He then scored a further nine points for Leinster Rugby and Ulster and Munster Rugby. He then totalled 3 penalties in that season plus one conversion in 143 minutes.
2007–08
In the 2007–08 season Sexton started against Edinburgh Rugby in which he scored one try, one conversion and two penalties. He then scored his second try of the season against Cardiff Blues in which he scored a further two conversions and two penalties. He then followed that up against the Scarlets in which he scored one conversion and two penalties. He ended 2007 scoring a further 23 points against Ulster Rugby and Glasgow Warriors. He then finished the season finding points against Munster Rugby and newport gwent dragons.
That totalled 73 points for 2007–08.
2008–09
At the start of the season Sexton played seven matches against Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh Rugby and Munster Rugby in September. In October he played against Connacht Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, London Wasps and Glasgow Warriors. He finished the season on a high scoring sixty-four points after November. He got a call up to the ireland team for the 2008 six nations but was ruled out by injury.
2009–10
Sexton played against Scarlets, Dragons, Ospreys, Edinburgh, Munster, London Irish, Brive, Ulster and Cardiff before being called up to the Ireland team for a match against Fiji. He scored five conversions and two penalties in that match. He then played againstSouth Africa scoring five penalties. In 2010 Sexton played six games for Ireland scoring thirty-seven points in matches against England, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.
2010–11
Sexton played 19 times for Leinster Rugby that season, scoring 237 points. He scored two tries as Leinster won the Heineken Cup after trailing 22–6 at half time to win the match 33–22. Leinster then had the chance to add a second trophy by winning the Pro 12. However, Munster beat them 19–9 in the final, with Sexton kicking 3 penalties. Sexton then went to international duty and played in matches against South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina. He scored 34 points in those tests but then he had to prepare for the 2011 Six Nations Championship. He played the first game in the win against Italy being replaced by Ronan O'Gara who scored the winning drop goal. He then started in the 22–25 defeat against France but Sexton was then dropped to the bench against Scotland because of O'Gara's leading form. He then was dropped to the bench against Wales. Against England though Sexton was started and kicked fourteen of the points in a famous 24–9 win.
2011–12
Sexton played 16 games for Leinster in 2011–12 scoring 1 try, 29 conversions, 3 drop goals and 4 penalties. He totalled 213 points overall. He won the Heineken cup with Leinster that year and came runners up in the RaboDirect pro 12 only to lose out to Ospreys in the final. He played all five matches in the six nations in which he started all of them.
2012–13
The 2012–2013 season proved successful for Sexton as he helped Leinster win their first Pro 12 title since the Celtic league, having been runners up the previous three seasons. Despite the disappointment of failing to gain access to the knockout stages of the Heineken cup that year Sexton helped Leinster win their first Amlin Challenge Cup, a third European title in three years. He spent a portion of the season sidelined due to injury allowing his understudy Ian Madigan to take the hot seat at out half. It was announced that Sexton would leave Leinster at the end of the season to join Racing Metro as he failed to agree terms with the IRFU, despite his outspoken intent to remain in the blue jersey for the remainder of his career.
Racing Metro
Rumours began to speculate mid way through the 2012–2013 season that Sexton had agreed to join Racing Metro 92 in Paris on a salary reported in the region of 750,000 euros per annum making him one of the highest paid players in Europe. The reports were then confirmed by the player and Racing Metro as talks with the IRFU over a new contract had broken down. Sexton will join fellow British & Irish Lions team mates Jamie Roberts and Dan Lydiate at the club for the 2013–2014 season while his previous adversary for the Irish 10 jersey Ronan O'Gara was also confirmed as a coach for the club. Sexton stated he was unaware of O'Gara's arrival but was happy of the news as both men had developed a good working friendship in their latter years together in the Ireland set-up, having previously been reported to have had a fractious early relationship during Sextons emergence. Sexton's departure came as surprise to many in Ireland as he had been a key player for both Leinster and Ireland in recent years having stated his intent to remain at the club. He cited the Parisian clubs ambitious new project and impressive training facilities as a factor in choosing them over traditionally more successful European clubs outside of Ireland.
2013–14
This will be Sexton's first year as a non-Leinster player, joining Jamie Roberts and Dan Lydiate as the clubs marquee signings. He will compete in the French Top 14.
Ireland
Sexton was selected as part of the Ireland squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship, but sustained a fractured thumb shortly beforehand playing for Leinster.[6]
Sexton was selected to play for Ireland A in the 2009 Churchill Cup. Ireland A went on to win the tournament beating England Saxons 49–22 in the final with Sexton scoring 15 points despite being sin-binned.
He won his first cap for Ireland in the Test against Fiji at the RDS in Dublin on 21 November 2009 scoring 16 points (5 conversions and 2 penalty goals), kicking 7 from 7 in extremely difficult weather conditions and winning Man of the Match with his impressive International debut.[7][8]
On 24 November 2009 Sexton was selected ahead of veteran fly-half Ronan O'Gara in Ireland's autumn international against world cup champions South Africa at Croke Park.[9] He kicked all of Ireland's 15 points and after the match, it was revealed that Sexton had played out Ireland's thrilling 15–10 victory with a broken hand.[10]
Sexton returned to the Ireland squad for the 2010 Six Nations, he came on as a substitute in Ireland's loss against France. He was selected to earn his first Six Nations start in the match against England in Twickenham on 27 February 2010.[11] Ireland won the game 20–16 at Twickenham with Sexton before being replaced by Ronan O'Gara late in the game. Sexton started against Wales and Scotland, being replaced by Ronan O'Gara in both games towards the end. Over the six nations, his kicking success rate was much lower than in his first few tests, missing several kicks.
He was named in Ireland's squad for the 2010 Summer Tests, coming off the bench to replace O'Gara against New Zealand. He started against New Zealand Maori and kicked 23 points, and started against Australia, kicking all of Ireland's 15 points in the game.[12] Sexton was named RBS 6 Nations Man of the Match following his role in Ireland's successful attempt to stop England's hunt for a Grand Slam in the 2011 RBS 6 Nations.[13]
Honours
Schools
- Leinster Schools Senior Cup (with St Mary's College, Dublin) 2002
Leinster
- Celtic League/Magners League/Pro 12: 2007–08, 2012–2013
- Heineken Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
- Amlin Cup: 2013
Ireland Wolfhounds
British & Irish Lions
Charity work
Jonathan is an ambassador with Make-A-Wish Ireland since September 2009. He helps grant wishes to children with life threatening medical conditions and launches various fundraising campaigns.[14]
Playing style
Sexton has been a key figure to Irish and club rugby due to both his defensive play and his good passing in attack. He is also a place-kicker for both club and country. As of June 2013, Sexton has scored 282 points in all test matches, including 115 points in four seasons in the Six Nations Tournament.[15]
In May 2012 former Ireland and Leinster fly-half Ollie Campbell stated before Leinster's third European Cup in four years that Sexton is a "class act with hardly any weaknesses", and that during Leinster's rise to the summit of European rugby the "only significant Heineken Cup defeat over the last four seasons occurred when Jonathan Sexton was not playing."[16]
References
- ↑ "Kerry Sanctuary". independent.ie. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ "Leicester 16 Leinster 19". ercrugby.com. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- ↑ "Listowel has a hero's welcome". kerryman.ie. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ "Leinster Retain Heineken Cup". rte.ie. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ "Sexton to leave Leinster for France – Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables | The Irish Times – Fri, Jan 25, 2013". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ↑ "Sexton to miss Six Nations opener". RTÉ. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
- ↑ "Sexton to make debut for Ireland". BBC Sport. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- ↑ RTE (21 November 2009). "Matchtracker". Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- ↑ "Sexton a shock inclusion for Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ↑ "Injury Setback for Leinster as Sexton Suffers Broken Hand". independent.ie. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ↑ "Ireland start for Murphy". Sky Sports. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ↑ "England 16–20 Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ↑ "No grand slam for England". Sky Sports. 20 March 2011.
- ↑ "Ambassadors". Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ↑ Jonathan Sexton: Rugby Union Profile ESPN Scrum Retrieved 11 June 2013
- ↑ "Sexton a Class Act". independent.ie. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
External links
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