Boks asked to ignore Sexton's ref engagements on Test day: 'We'll go off the boil if we focus on him'

In Dublin

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber cautioned that they'll lose their match-day focus if they get caught up in Johnny Sexton's notorious shouting matches with match officials when the Boks and Ireland meet at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Nika Amashukeli from Georgia will take the whistle this weekend.

Sexton, the experienced Irish pivot with more than 100 Test caps, has a wealth of ability but is also known for unnecessarily engaging with match officials, especially when decisions don't go his way.

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This petulant behaviour was recently on display when his province Leinster beat the Sharks 54-34 at the Royal Dublin Society ground on 8 October in a United Rugby Championship game.

In the game, Sexton was constantly in referee Craig Evans's ear despite the difference in class between the sides on the day.

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Nienaber said they need to deal with Sexton from a rugby perspective and leave other behaviours to the match officials to sort out.

"We will go off the boil if we start to focus on him," Nienaber said.

"He's a quality player and we know his attributes as a player, but we can't get tied up in that. We need to deal with his rugby ability.

"From there, the referee must deal with him. We must deal with him from a rugby perspective."

Nienaber, who has first-hand coaching experience with Leinster's rivals Munster, also showered praise on Ireland's rugby system.

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx,