Johnny Sexton must find his mojo again if he is to fill in for 'crucial' Owen Farrell

Primed: Farrell's injury puts Sexton in line for Test start
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Jim Kayes15 June 2017

Warren Gatland summed up Owen Farrell’s importance to the Lions today in simple terms. “He’s been pretty crucial to us,” said the Lions head coach.

Not long after that press conference, Gatland was facing the prospect that he might be without that key man for the first Test after Farrell hurt his leg in training.

If Farrell does not recover in time then it is likely Johnny Sexton will take the responsibility of filling the playmaker role.

The Ireland fly-half was Gatland’s go-to man in 2013, playing in all three Tests in the 2-1 series win against the Wallabies and only leaving the field for the final 17 minutes of the third Test when the result was beyond doubt.

Though he was named to start against New Zealand Maori on Saturday, it was thought Farrell, who was on the bench, would get the nod for the first Test.

Gatland said: “Owen Farrell has had quite a bit of rugby and he’s pretty important to us at the moment. We need to make sure he is fit for the following week, because he has been pretty crucial to us.

“He is on the bench and he can come on and we could end up with a 10/12 combination [with Sexton], or we can end up with him coming on at 10.

“At some point he will get some game time.”

Now Farrell is out of the Maori match with a leg injury, Dan Biggar takes his place in the reserves and Sexton is in pole position to start against the All Blacks a week on Saturday. But he will have a big job to replace Farrell.

The England man’s goal-kicking, calmness under pressure, big game temperament and defence were seen as key attributes against the All Blacks who have world rugby’s player of the year at 10 — Beauden Barrett.

In contrast to Farrell’s ability to cope with pressure, Sexton cracked when he missed a match-winning kick against the All Blacks in Dublin in 2013, leaving the door open for the New Zealanders to snatch a 24-22 victory in the final minute of the game. But Sexton has been successful for Gatland before and the coach was happy to talk him up today.

“He was really good off the bench the other day and the combination of 10 and 12 was pretty seamless,” Gatland said.

“He was just down a little on confidence but he’s got a bit of his mojo back, and we wanted to give him a start against the Maori.”

Sexton will have the Auckland born Ben Te’o outside him against the Maori, that pairing now a decent chance to start against the All Blacks. For Te’o it should be an exciting prospect. It didn’t seem to be.

“I can’t say it will be any more special to playing the Springboks or the Wallabies, or anyone else,” he said. “If I get that opportunity, I’d be happy and very proud of the achievement, but I can’t say it will mean anything more than a rugby game.”

Te’o grew up in the beachside suburb of Manly, about 40 minutes north of central Auckland, and played rugby throughout his school years at Orewa College before moving to Australia when he was 17. His parents still live in Manly, but Te’o appears to have no affection for the All Blacks.

“It’s just a game,” he said when asked how special it would be to play against the men in black. “I grew up looking at the All Blacks but things have changed, times changed, I’ve gone on a different journey through Australia, through rugby league and to Europe to learn rugby union all over again.”

Te’o, 30, who was a superstar in Australia’s NRL league competition before switching to rugby in 2014, was just as nonchalant about the prospect of marking another former league star, Sonny Bill Williams.

So deadpan was Te’o about Williams and the All Blacks you’d have to hope he was deliberately underplaying things. The alternative is that he has little sense of occasion and the importance of a Lions tour. “I can’t say that I’d be looking forward to that,” he said of what most people expect will be a titanic clash if he and Williams collide at Eden Park next week.

On a more ebullient note, lock Maro Itoje was upbeat about his second visit to New Zealand after captaining the England under-20 team that won the World Cup here in 2014.

“I didn’t get to play the All Blacks in our junior World Cup championship over here, but hopefully that will change,” he said.

While the Maori aren’t the All Blacks, it will be the first national side from New Zealand Itoje plays and he’s expecting another bruising battle. “It’s a tremendous challenge, a challenge that everyone is excited for, and a challenge where I think we will do well,” he said.

If he does do well, he is almost certain to play against the All Blacks next week — a prospect he’s sure to find a bit more thrilling than Te’o seems to.

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