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Sexton: I always feel I have a point to prove

Sexton try
Johnny Sexton has admitted he ‘always feels he has a point to prove’ as both he and Ireland look to bounce back from their Guinness Six Nations disappointment in the Autumn Nations Cup.

Johnny Sexton has admitted he ‘always feels he has a point to prove’ as both he and Ireland look to bounce back from their Guinness Six Nations disappointment in the Autumn Nations Cup.

The 35-year-old will win his 100th Test cap, made up of 94 for Ireland and six for the British & Irish Lions, when his side kick off the new tournament against Wales on Friday but his desire to improve – and prove any doubters wrong – remains as strong as ever.

“I always feel that way. I always feel personally that I have a point to prove because you can be the best thing since sliced bread one day and then everyone writes you off the next and it’s the same with every part of your game,” Sexton said.

“You always feel that you’ve got a point to prove. Even at times when it’s going well you’ve got that nagging doubt in your head.

“I’m sure everyone is the same and as a team we’re the same. We want to go out and show how good we are because what we saw last weekend wasn’t what we wanted to put out there. Hopefully we can bounce back this week.”

Ireland needed to beat France by a margin of at least seven points in their Round 5 clash in Paris to claim the Championship crown but had to settle for a third-place finish after going down 35-27.

Sexton pinpointed a lack of cutting edge as a key factor in their defeat and urged his side – who scored more tries and points than the eventual champions England over the course of the 2020 Championship – to show a more clinical side in their upcoming internationals.

“I think it’s that ruthless streak in us, making sure we capitalise on chances,” he said.

“Those stats should point towards us being up towards the top of the Six Nations table. If we’d taken a few of the chances against France, maybe we could have won it.

“It’s really just capitalising on the chances we create and trying to continue creating them. I think we’ve made some big steps forward in some parts of our game and we haven’t capitalised on the opportunities.

“Hopefully, we can take a step forward in that area.”

Sexton’s Leinster teammate James Lowe – described by the Ireland captain as “everything you want in a winger” – has been handed his international debut for Friday’s visit of Wales and Sexton is looking forward to getting stuck in.

“The competition in training is big,” he said.

“We are going at it team against team and guys are fighting for places.

“No matter who gets picked or who gets called upon, if it’s a late change or anything, guys are ready.”