Johnny Sexton has been passed fit for Ireland’s pivotal Six Nations clash against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
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Assistant coach Richie Murphy yesterday confirmed that Ireland’s lynchpin fly-half trained fully, after recovering from hamstring trouble.
Murphy said Ireland now have “a full deck to pick from” with Jamie Heaslip, Sean O’Brien and Jared Payne all cleared to face Wales this weekend.
Number eight Heaslip has been on the comeback trail after suffering a fractured vertebrae in his back, while O’Brien and Payne have both proved their fitness after concussion.
“Johnny took full part in training this morning, he has done all the team stuff and trained well,” said Murphy.
“Everyone else has come through, Jamie trained Monday and Tuesday so he’s fit and healthy and ready to go.
“And the two boys, Jared and Sean O’Brien both passed their return to play protocols.
“They have done contact today so as long as there’s no reaction over the next 24 hours they are both fit and ready to go. It looks like a full deck to pick from, and everyone is very upbeat. Everyone enjoyed that session this morning, the intensity was right up there.
“Having the guys fit and healthy is a massive thing for the squad because it puts pressure on everyone. The environment gets a nice little buzz off that.”
Sexton has been widely hailed as the world’s form fly-half as Ireland have swept to a record-equalling run of 10 consecutive Test victories.
The 29-year-old limped out of the closing stages of Ireland’s 19-9 victory over England in Dublin on March 1, with Irish bosses admitting only on Monday that he still had to prove his fitness.
Sexton’s return to fitness hands Ireland a huge boost in the quest for back-to-back Six Nations titles for the first time since 1949. Joe Schmidt’s side can take a giant leap towards a first Grand Slam in six years with victory in Cardiff
Ireland skills coach Murphy admitted Sexton is yet to go through goal-kicking drills at full tilt, but backed the peerless playmaker to ease through the rest of the week.
“He’s dealing with the rehab guys really, so they have him on a programme bringing him through that,” said Murphy.
“He kicked a couple of balls on Sunday, did a little bit more on Monday and more again today.
“So he’s in a good place, he trained fully and was running at 100 per cent today. He will be ready for the weekend. His kicking drills, he’s probably not hitting them 100 per cent yet, but today’s Tuesday, Saturday is a long way away. And he’ll be ready to go.”
Laidlaw: Nobody is safe from the axe
Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw has admitted even his spot in the team is not safe following the Dark Blues’ disaster against Italy.
Vern Cotter’s side were humiliated at home when they allowed the Azzurri to snatch a 22-19 win at Murrayfield last month.
The visitors’ victory means the Scots head to Twickenham – a venue where they have not won since 1983 – to face England this Saturday on the back of three straight Six Nations defeats.
It was not the start to the Championships Laidlaw was looking for with the World Cup to come later this year. And now the scrum-half admits that nobody in Cotter’s camp – not even he as captain – can take their place for granted.
The Gloucester half-back said: “It’s been a tough week. The coaches got stuck into us after the Italy match and rightly so. There needs to be a reaction this weekend against England.
“There is always competition for places. The first few games I was happy with my performances but I don’t think anyone was happy with last weekend.
“Changes always happen and competition for places is good. You can never rest on your laurels.”
Matt Taylor, one of Cotter’s right-hand men, admitted on Monday that the Scots’ attitude had not been right for the visit of the Italians.
But Laidlaw said: “There is never complacency. But for whatever reason we were just a bit sluggish.
“We were off in the collisions and never got a good hold in defence.”
Gatland sees no reason to change as he picks same XV
Wales boss Warren Gatland will send an unchanged team into what he describes as a “massive” encounter against unbeaten title favourites Ireland.
Gatland predictably retains the starting line-up that defeated France 20-13 in Paris 11 days ago, a result which kept alive hopes of Wales landing a third Six Nations crown in four years.
Flanker Sam Warburton, who went off after taking a blow to his knee during the French clash, will break Ryan Jones’ record when he captains Wales for the 34th time.
Two injury-enforced changes on the bench, meanwhile, sees uncapped Scarlets prop Rob Evans replacing Bath loosehead Paul James, who suffered a fractured thumb during the France game, while lock Jake Ball takes over from Bradley Davies.
“I thought the team played pretty well against France,” head coach Gatland said. “It was great to win away from home, so it was pretty easy in terms of selecting the same side.
“We are under no illusions about what we are expecting to receive on Saturday, and we have just got to be able to cope with the pressure that they put on us. It’s massive for us because if we win we are still in the competition going away to Italy.
“But it’s one game at a time, and we’ve got to make sure we are mentally right for Saturday. That is the most important thing.”
Wales have lost their last two Six Nations Tests against Ireland, including being destroyed 26-3 in Dublin 13 months ago.
Paying tribute to Warburton’s landmark feat, Gatland added: “It’s just a fantastic achievement. It’s a great accolade for Sam.
“As a team, we hope we can reward Sam’s achievement with a good performance and hopefully a victory.”
