World Rugby will announce their 2018 player of the year at the end of November.
And surely Johnny Sexton’s time has come.
In 2018, Sexton has:
- Kicked 99 points, including that 42-metre drop goal against France that put Ireland on course for the Grand Slam.
- Won all nine Test matches he has started.
- Won the Six Nations Grand Slam.
- Won the Guinness PRO14.
- Won the Champions Cup.
The Leinster fly-half also played a key role in Ireland’s historic victory on Saturday evening.
Joe Schmidt’s team beat New Zealand for the first time on Irish soil, winning a dramatic game 16-9 at the Aviva Stadium.
Jacob Stockdale’s incredible try was the difference between the two teams. And It was the first time in 20 years that the All Blacks went try-less and were held to single figures in a Test match.
“Hey, it is something to really bank. A big game against a really good side against thousands of people screaming for the opposition. We want to be in a position next year [at the World Cup] where we are in that same position.” https://t.co/tflW1yV42L
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 18, 2018
Sexton outplayed his main rival for the award – Beauden Barrett, the All Blacks’ fly-half who won the award in 2016 and 2017. The Leinster man came out on top in his own dual with Barrett and it feels like his time has come to claim the prestigious individual award.
While Ireland coach Schmidt wouldn’t say that following the match, he was full of praise for the Sexton.
“I don’t pick any of this, so I thought Johnny was incredibly good for us in all sorts of ways,” Schmidt told reporters following the game.
“He distributed really well, defensively he stands up and delivers. He had cramp and he showed courage, he kept going, and even toward the end of the game he said ‘just give me a minute, I can finish this out’.
“But we decided not to give him a minute, because he’d pushed himself far enough.
“So is he a super player for us? Absolutely. But somebody else will make the decisions about if he’s good enough to be considered World Player of the Year.”
The award would cap what has been an incredible year for Sexton and Irish rugby.
