In modern rugby, there are three types of fly half. The manager, always close to the action and who directs attacks with his precise passes and his kicking game. The offensive, lively and ready to rush at any time into a gap left open by the opposing defense. And Jonathan Sexton. The Irishman has a unique style which he intends to use again during the clash of the group stages of the Rugby World Cup between the XV du Trèfle and South Africa, Saturday September 23 (9 p.m.), at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The captain is both the star of the men in green and their conductor. Number 10 in the back, he leads his team’s offensives while offering an impression of dilettantism on the pitch. When his teammates run, tackle or replace themselves at full speed, he prefers to play by walking, regaining his position at a slow trot during each phase of play, as if he had more time than the others on the field.
Enough to exasperate the supporters, as another lawn walking specialist, the footballer Lionel Messi, could sometimes do during his years at Paris Saint-Germain? Absolutely not. Saturday September 16, during the Irish victory over Tonga (59-16), Sexton easily won the “applause meter” competition at the Beaujoire stadium in Nantes, when the players from the two teams were announced.
A fan of management
At 38, the fly-half is the face of a team that dreams of reaching the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time in its history. A rank acquired through the trophies won in selection (four Six Nations Tournaments, including the last this year) and in club with the province of Leinster (notably four Champions Cup, the “big” European Cup).
Almost all the balls go through him, and his precision against the poles is reassuring. “He is truly the playing master of this team, whether in tactical analysis, kicking and leadership”analyzed the ex-third line of the Blues, Imanol Harinordoquy, in March with the World. His status allows him to be forgotten when his team is deprived of the ball, leaving others to defend for him. Against Tonga and during the success against Romania on September 9 (82-8), the opener only made six tackles. It’s not much, but ultimately not disabling for its teammates, long accustomed to doing without him to protect their goal line.
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