Johnny Sexton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GainLine (talk | contribs) at 21:23, 11 July 2011 (Undid revision 438937900 by 86.182.123.178 (talk) rv change of context). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jonathan Sexton
Full nameJonathan Sexton
Date of birth (1985-07-11) 11 July 1985 (age 38)
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Weight14 st 7 lb (92 kg)
SchoolSt. Mary's College, Dublin
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Correct as of 20 Mar 2011

Jonathan Sexton (born 11 July 1985 in Dublin), is a rugby union player for Leinster Rugby in the Magners League and Heineken Cup. Sexton is a nephew of former Garryowen, Munster and Ireland rugby player Willie Sexton.

Sexton is registered to St. Mary's College RFC who play in AIB League Division 1. Sexton usually plays as Fly-half but has played several different positions in the back-line. He attended St. Marys college in Dublin and scored a drop goal in the dying moments of St. Marys' 2002 Leinster Senior Cup final win.

Leinster

Sexton in action during the 2011 Heineken Cup Quarter final versus the Leicester Tigers.

He was part of Leinster's Magners League winning side in 2007/08.

On 2 May 2009, he came on for Felipe Contepomi in the Heineken Cup semi-final helping Leinster beat rivals Munster 25–6. He then started in Leinster's home match against the Scarlets in the Magners League, scoring 15 points (including a try) in a man of the match performance. As a result of Contepomi's injury, he started the 2009 Heineken Cup Final. He 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) that saw Leinster win their first European Cup against Leicester Tigers 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 sensational drop goal in the dying minutes against London Irish at Twickenham to even up the score at eleven all. His drop goal 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 Magners 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, earning him a man of the match award and his second Heineken Cup. His 28 points in that match makes him the second-highest scorer in one game in Heineken Cup history. However, Sexton and Leinster could not snatch the first Heineken Cup and Magners League double that season, with the club losing to Munster in the Final.

Ireland

He was selected as part of the Ireland squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship but sustained a fractured thumb shortly beforehand playing for Leinster.[3] Sexton was selected to play for Ireland A in the 2009 Churchill Cup. Ireland A went on to win the tournamnent 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.[4][5] On 24 November 2009 Sexton was selected ahead of veteran fly-half Ronan O'Gara in Ireland's autumn international against South Africa.[6] He kicked all of Ireland's 15 points in a 15–10 victory against the World Champions.[7] After the match, scans confirmed that he sustained two broken fingers.[8] 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 February 27, 2010. [9] Ireland won the game 20–16 at Twickenham with Sexton scoring 1 penalty from 5 attempts 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 succes rate was much lower than in his first few tests, missing several kicks however, it should be noted that Sexton was suffering from a quad injury at the time and was commended for his playmaking ability. 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.[10] 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.[11]

Honours

Leinster

Ireland Wolfhounds

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.[12]

References

  1. ^ http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/profiles/531.php?player=15303&includeref=dynamic
  2. ^ "Leicester 16 Leinster 19". ercrugby.com. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2009-11-17. [dead link]
  3. ^ "Sexton to miss Six Nations opener". RTÉ. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  4. ^ "Sexton to make debut for Ireland". BBC Sport. 2009-11-17. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  5. ^ RTE (2009-11-21). "Matchtracker". Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  6. ^ "Sexton a shock inclusion for Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  7. ^ Cleary, Mick (2009-11-30). "Ireland show World Cup credentials against South Africa". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  8. ^ "Sexton suffers hand injury". Irish Times. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  9. ^ "Ireland start for Murphy". Sky Sports. 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  10. ^ "England 16–20 Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  11. ^ "No grand slam for England". Sky Sports. 2011-03-20.
  12. ^ "Ambassadors". Retrieved 2011-03-29.

External links

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Sexton&oldid=438978832"