Ronan O’Gara has said that Johnny Sexton should not be the Ireland captain in the aftermath of their 24-12 defeat to England last Sunday.
Speaking on Off The Ball’s Wednesday Night Rugby, ROG explained the reasoning why he thinks Sexton isn’t best suited to the role of captain.
O’Gara also said that he is of the opinion that Sexton being Ireland captain was not a good move since he was appointed, after Rory Best’s retirement.
“There’s a lot on his plate with the captaincy, I wasn’t a fan of it [from] day one as I’ve said here,” said O’Gara.
“I think what he has brought to the jersey and to the position [it is] absolutely a huge honour and is entitled to have that on his CV.
“But for me, a team is better suited with another leader as your captain as opposed to your number 10 because he’s the on-field leader anyway,” he said.
The former Munster and Ireland out-half expanded on that point, highlighting how important the ‘10’ position is to a team, beyond simply being captain.
“Everything strategically goes through him, everything in terms of the tempo and the vibe on the pitch is through him.
“Sometimes you need to take that away from him I feel,” O’Gara said.
ROG also explained the reasons behind Sexton’s struggles against England last week and the different aspects of his poor kicking.
“I think that he’s struggling with the malaise of his team. As a halfback, or a 10 especially, you crave space and time on the ball. He had zero on both fronts.
“But the opportunities in his own game, where he’ll measure himself on, he will be disappointed in terms of catch pass and quality of kick from off the ground or the hand from the restart.
“So I think with something like that you separate the goal kicking completely,” he said.
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