IRELAND legend Johnny Sexton has been pictured in his new coaching role ahead of Ireland’s clash against England.
The defending Six Nations champions welcome fierce rivals England to Dublin next week in their opening fixture.
Simon Easterby will be at the helm for Ireland as Andy Farrell is forced to take a sabbatical as he is head coach of The Lions for next summer’s Tour of Australia.
Rugby icon Sexton hung up his boots after the 2023 Rugby World Cup but returned to the camp as a mentor last season.
And now he’s been snapped as he put some of the team through their drills during a training session in the Algarve.
The legendary Leinster out-half Sexton was also brought into the fold last year for the numbers tens in the squad.
38-year-old Sexton looked in a serious mood as he instructed the backs and out-halves during a number of unopposed drills.
The squad are on a warm weather training camp at ‘The Campus’ facility in Quinta do Lago, Portugal.
The Campus is a state-of-the-art performance centre used by some of the wordl’s top teams and athletes.
It has also high performance gym, tennis and padel courts, swimming pool, cycling, group classes and personal training, recovery suites and sports rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, ex-All Black star Justin Marshall reckons teams have figured out how to play against Ireland.
The legendary scrum-half also thinks that the Six Nations Champions may have lost their ‘mojo’.
Speaking on DSPN with Martin Devlin, he questioned Ireland ahead of their opening clash against in on Saturday week.
And Marshall reckons they may struggle in the 2025 edition.
He said: “You do have to wonder whether or not they’ve lost their mojo a little bit.
“I thought that they still have the calibre of player but they’re starting to get figured out a little bit in the way that they play.
“Particularly defensively, the All Blacks have struggled [in attack] against them for a couple of years.
“But both Australia and New Zealand showed that they could score tries against Ireland and that will be concerning for Andy Farrell.”
Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2025 – Ireland Fixtures
Round 1
Ireland v England, Saturday, February 1st, 4.45pm
Round 2
Scotland v Ireland, Sunday, February 9th, 3.00pm
Round 3
Wales v Ireland, Saturday, February 22nd, 2.15pm
Round 4
Ireland v France, Saturday, March 8th, 2.15pm
Round 5
Italy v Ireland, Saturday, March 15, 2.15pm
