Johnny Sexton: Everything you need to know about the Ireland legend

Lawrence Nolan
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Ireland captain Johnny Sexton with the Six Nations trophy.

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton with the Six Nations trophy.

Having been stuck behind Ronan O’Gara for so long, when the chance came around, Jonathan Sexton seized it with both hands, ably enough that there is now a quite legitimate debate over who the best is or was.

If O’Gara was a tactical maestro, Sexton is a little more of an all-rounder, able with the boot, but a superb passer and as fierce a fly-half defender as has been seen since Jonny Wilkinson. In fact, fierce is an appropriate word for Sexton generally.

Never short of a few choice words delivered with plenty of venom on the pitch, he nearly always manages to keep his head despite permanently seeming to be on the verge of spontaneous combustion and is well-known for his ability to deliver clutch plays under the heaviest pressure – never better exemplified than by that drop goal against France…

Johnny Sexton career

Perhaps appropriately then, Sexton’s first ripple was caused by a last-gasp drop goal for St. Mary’s College in their Leinster Senior Schools Cup win in 2002. It took him some time after, but he is nothing if not patient, and eventually, he made his debut for Leinster in 2006 against Border. By 2009, and at the age of 24, he had made the Leinster fly-half jersey his own, and with Felipe Contepomi off to France, Sexton was able to join at a moment when Leinster were flying, helping them to a Heineken Cup triumph with an 11-point haul in the final.

Later in 2009, Sexton managed to oust O’Gara from the Ireland number 10 jersey for the first time, seizing his opportunity by kicking all Ireland’s points in a 15-10 win. By 2010 he was a regular starter for Ireland, although he endured some tricky form with the boot that year. His battle with O’Gara was intriguing, but by 2013 Sexton was not only Ireland’s first choice, but also that for the Lions in their tour triumph in Australia.

Controversially, Sexton joined Racing Metro in 2013, taking a reported €750,000 salary for two years to do so. But he struggled to have the same influence in France as he had at Leinster, while Racing Metro struggled to gel as a team despite the money spent on it. In 2015, Sexton returned to Leinster and has since been a mainstay of the Irish team’s glory years.

Although suffering patchy form in France, Sexton’s performances for Ireland were very much on point during his time in France, with a scintillating showing against the French in 2014 helping Ireland to the Six Nations title. But his zenith undoubtedly came in 2018, when he landed a 45-metre drop goal after 41 phases of Irish possession to help Ireland to a win which set them on their way to a Grand Slam. As a result of both that and a number of other superb performances, Sexton was voted IRB World Player of the Year in 2018, only the second Irish player to have been voted so. A part of the vote was doubtless a nod to Sexton’s courage in playing most of the third Lions Test in New Zealand in 2017 with both a broken wrist and a ruptured ankle tendon.

The Irish team looked strong heading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup but ultimately fell away during the tournament. However, the one positive for the fly-half was his first chance to captain Ireland against Japan in the pool stage.

He would be named full-time captain in 2020 and was a crucial part of the transformation of the team over the next couple of years. He became a Test centurion in 2021 despite being controversially omitted from the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

By 2022 Ireland had become a powerhouse in the game and led by Sexton beat New Zealand in a three-match Test series away from home. The team would continue to grow and in 2023 won the Grand Slam.

Now very much in the twilight of his career and with the Rugby World Cup in his sights, Sexton will be deservedly mentioned in all Irish conversations regarding fly-half GOATs.

Johnny Sexton family

His brother Jerry has played for Exeter, London Irish, Doncaster and other clubs. Sexton is married to wife Laura and he has three children, Luca, Amy and Sophie.

Johnny Sexton net worth

The details of his two-year contract in Paris were well-known, but those of his Irish contract are less so. Sexton’s most important work aside from rugby is non-commercial: he works with Debra Ireland, the charity that helps families living with the genetic skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB). He is also 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.

READ MORE: Ronan O’Gara: Everything you need to know about the Ireland legend

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