Andy Farrell expects Ireland players to fill Sexton 'void'

Call it a new era, a new chapter or whatever you prefer but Ireland are just four days away from a first campaign without Johnny Sexton since 2009.

When fit, the former Leinster and Lions out-half has been at the heart of Ireland's Six Nations success over the past decade, a stint that included four championship and two Grand Slams.

He brought as much to the equation off the field as he did on it and now someone has to step up to fill the gap in a team that was badly wounded by World Cup heartache just over three months ago.

Andy Farrell has been dismissive of four-year-cycle talk and insists that his Ireland side are evolving.

They open the defence of their title against France on Friday night in Marseille.

So much good was achieved prior to the defeat at the hands of New Zealand, not least a Grand Slam, that Ireland can build on strong foundations, the head coach reckons.

All that said, Farrell admits there’s a Johnny Sexton-sized hole in his squad.

"There will be a void, obviously," he said, speaking shortly before the squad assembled in Carton House last Monday

"I've got my first meeting at 4.30 and after that people start filling it straight away and making sure that they fully understand what we're about.

"That it's their team and it's not just the coaches trying to tell them what to do. It's their team.

"Of course, with the experience that they’ve got they understand what that looks like.

"But some responsibilities might be a little bit different as in trying to take that gap and going, 'you know what? I'm going to put myself out there’, whether it be a certain position or the social committee or the leadership committee or whatever.

"We want to see people stepping up all the time so hopefully we get back up and running in