Ireland will have to cope against the All Blacks this weekend without two of their trusted lieutenants in scrum-half Conor Murray and centre Robbie Henshaw.
Murray is continuing his gradual return from a neck injury sustained on the summer tour of Australia and this weekend’s crunch Test for the Six Nations champions against the All Blacks in Dublin has just come too soon for him.
Meanwhile, Henshaw was ruled out of last weekend’s Argentina Test during the warm-up with a hamstring issue that will keep him out of the rest of the autumn.
In Murray’s absence, the likes of Luke McGrath and Kieran Marmion will battle it out with John Cooney for the scrum-half roles this weekend.
And Jonathan Sexton admits his Lions and Ireland teammate Murray has made a ‘smart’ call in not rushing his return.
“I obviously stayed in touch with Conor a lot over the injury to see how he has been getting on and all the time (he’s been) improving but I suppose he’s just trying to make sure he can get it right from now and not be an issue going forward,” said Sexton.
“It’s probably a smart thing. It’s a big ask. If you’re out for a few weeks and you’re asked to play the All Blacks, that’s tough enough. But if you’re out for the period of time he has been out for, it would be a big step in.
“Look, Conor’s a world-class player and three guys behind him are chasing him but I think they did well at the weekend, ‘Marms’ and Luke.
“They’ll be better for that experience as well. I think the more time you spend in the environment in here, the more comfortable you get and the better you get. I’m sure those guys will go a step ahead again this week.”
As for his Leinster midfield partner Henshaw, Sexton added: “Robbie has been a big part of the team over the last number of years and he’s bounced back from various different injuries last year, memorably for Leinster in that semi-final against the Scarlets where he had such an incredible performance after being out for so long.
“Look, I’m sure he’ll bounce back quickly from it but he’s obviously a loss. He’s a loss for a lot of teams in the world and he’ll be a loss for us this week. But the guys that are available will do a great job I’m sure.”
