Ireland captain Johnny Sexton claims there's 'no correlation' between Welsh regions' struggles and Wales Six Nations hopes

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton reckons there is no correlation between the four Welsh regions' poor European form and Wales' Six Nations title hopes.

With Wales' four professional sides again struggling to make a dent in Europe, attention has been drawn once more to what that means for the health of the sport in this country.

And, given the spate of injuries Wayne Pivac has had to deal with, it's understandable why few have built up the prospect of Wales defending their Six Nations crown.

However, Sexton - a vital part of a Leinster side which has continually challenged for European honours - believes the Welsh regions' European form will have little bearing on how Wales get on in the coming weeks.

"To be honest, there's no correlation between [Europe and] how the Six Nations starts," he said at the official Six Nations launch on Wednesday.

"I can remember having this exact same conversation about five years ago when the Irish provinces were flying and the Welsh regions were struggling. They beat us.

"There's no correlation between international performance and provincial. When we come into the Ireland camp, we put on our Irish jersey and we're one team. We leave our provinces at the door. We go about preparing to face the reigning champions.

"I'm a bit surprised by the question given they had such a great Six Nations last year, being a couple of minutes away from winning a Grand Slam, and had a good November as well. We're playing the champions so that's what we have in our mind."

When asked whether, as an outsider, it surprised him that Wales continually achieve more in the national game than the regions, Sexton admitted the national team were always more than the sum of their parts.

"It doesn't surprise me as I know a