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<\/p>\nJohnny Sexton retires as Ireland\u2019s greatest-ever player <\/p>\n
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Very few athletes get the fairytale ending to leave their sport at the top. For every Steve Redgrave (who retired after a fifth straight Olympic rowing gold medal at Sydney 2000), Mark Spitz (who followed a then-record seven Olympic golds at Munich 1972 by hanging up his swimming goggles) or Rocky Marciano (bowing out as heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1955 with a perfect 49-0 record), there are thousands of greats who step away after one final moment of heartbreak and disappointment.<\/p>\n
It might not diminish their legacies but it\u2019s not the satisfying finale that Hollywood would have us believe is the norm.<\/p>\n
So in that sense, after Ireland\u2019s 37 phases of agony against New Zealand led to the latest Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit, Johnny Sexton isn\u2019t special. Yet ask almost anyone involved with the game just how much he\u2019s done for Irish rugby and you quickly see exactly how special he is.<\/p>\n
“You\u2019ve got to work hard for fairytale endings and we didn\u2019t get it but that\u2019s life,” mused a visibly emotional Sexton after one final gut punch at the Stade de France on Saturday evening. \u201cIt\u2019s small margins and that\u2019s sport. That\u2019s life. It\u2019s gutting, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Gutting\u2019 probably underplays the emotional impact of that torrid finale in Paris but it was a sentiment echoed by back row Jack Conan as he contemplated life after Johnny.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re genuinely just gutted that we couldn\u2019t do it for Johnny,\u201d said Conan. \u201cHe\u2019s someone who deserves so much for the sacrifices he has made, for the player he is and for the man he is, for the leader that he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been everything that has been good about Irish rugby for nearly two decades and to not give him the send-off that he deserves is probably the hardest thing to take. He is how we measure ourselves, he is the standards setter, he is the leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sexton couldn\u2019t led Ireland to one final moment of glory <\/p>\n
And therein lies Sexton\u2019s enduring legacy. The trophies, awards and consistent on-field brilliance for club and country take care of themselves but the standards he\u2019s driven and the transformation of Leinster and Ireland \u2013 leading them to the very top of the world\u2019s elite \u2013 is what makes him unique.<\/p>\n
He bows out as a four-time Heineken Champions Cup winner, a six-time Pro14\/United Rugby Championship champion, a four-time Six Nations victor, a two-time grand slam champion, Ireland\u2019s record points scorer, the Six Nations\u2019 top points scorer, a Test centurion, a two-time British & Irish Lion and the 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year. <\/p>\n
It will be for the next Irish generation to finally overcome that seemingly insurmountable World Cup knockout hurdle but Sexton\u2019s impact has made it more likely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said to the group in the changing room the reason they\u2019re going to keep on learning is because of this guy (Sexton) sat beside me here,\u201d explained Ireland head coach Andy Farrell after the All Blacks defeat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe impact that he\u2019s had on the rest of the team over the last four years has been amazing. The way that he\u2019s conducted himself as a leader and as a player and the way that he\u2019s shown the love of playing for Ireland will be remembered and connected to this group for many years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough his example, the younger guys will keep on getting better and striving to be better, there\u2019s no doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sexton and Farrell suffered heartbreak but have helped drive Ireland to the next level during this World Cup cycle <\/p>\n
Perhaps the only debate remaining is whether Sexton goes down as the single greatest Irish rugby player of all time. By surpassing the Irish record points tally of his long-time rival and the man he has the most complicated personal relationship with, Ronan O\u2019Gara, his status as the greatest fly half was confirmed.<\/p>\n
The only remaining legends who could hold a candle to him are probably Jack Kyle, Willie John McBride, Keith Wood, Brian O\u2019Driscoll and Paul O\u2019Connell. All five more than made an impact during remarkable careers and were undoubtedly leaders of their respective teams but the longevity and long-term impact means Sexton edges them all. It\u2019s a view that Conan certainly agrees with.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my eyes, he is the greatest Irish player of all time for what he has done,\u201d added Conan. \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible joy of mine to play with him for so many years and to have been in so many dressing rooms with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He may not have got the fairytale ending he deserved but Johnny Sexton\u2019s legacy will continue to help Irish rugby grow into the future as perhaps an even greater prize.<\/p>\n