For over a decade, Johnny Sexton was Irish rugby’s most successful and prolific rugby player, winning four Champions Cups and five Six Nations during a decorated career.
However, like many of sport’s great characters, with success came division and Johnny Sexton was most certainly divisive.
On the field, his ferocious nature, complicated relationship with referees, and unwavering standards made him one of the sport’s most contentious figures both within Ireland and further afield.
Off the field, Sexton’s book Obsessed has also caused quite a stir, with recollections of bust-ups with Rieko Ioane, Ronan O’Gara and Leo Cullen all sparking their fair share of controversy.
Dan Biggar story shows lesser told side of Johnny Sexton
However, contrary to the controversial stories so often pedalled about Sexton, Welsh legend Dan Biggar revealed how an exchange between the pair on the day of Biggar’s first test start for Wales showed the lesser-seen side to the Irish star.
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While for much of their careers, the two outhalves were fierce rivals and adversaries, the pair struck up an unlikely relationship on the 2017 Lions Tour to New Zealand.
Speaking about that relationship and his top five opponents on BBC’s ScrumV, Dan Biggar revealed how a gesture from Biggar’s first test start summed up the type of character Sexton was.
The whole time we played Ireland, the only thing we generally spoke about was how do we get at Sexton, how do we stop Sexton running the game, how do we stop Sexton dictating play.
My first Six Nations start was against Ireland in 2013, and he gave me his match shirt and didn’t ask for mine in return, just said ‘keep yours’. So that was a really nice touch, just an all around brilliant guy.
Despite ‘argumentative’ and ‘fractious’ sounding like words that Sexton’s biggest critics might have used, Dan Biggar was in little doubt that they were the qualities that made Sexton the player he was.
So so tough on the field, argumentative, fractious, niggly, I saw so much of myself in him. You look at his career and the success he’s had with Leinster, with Ireland, with the Lions. He’s not the flashiest of tens like Finn Russell who produces a bit of magic now and again, this guy is consistency like you’ve never seen it.
While few people would dare to question the veracity of Sexton’s toughness, Dan Biggar’s revelation certainly shows off a lesser-seen side of the Irish out half.
Both Biggar and Sexton were chosen to represent the Lions on their 2017 tour to New Zealand when both sides were left splitting the spoils.
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