Ireland captain Johnny Sexton 'good to go' for Italy clash

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton says he is "good to go" ahead of Sunday's Guinness Six Nations meeting with Italy.

The out-half was speaking a remote press conference this afternoon, confirming that he has overcome the hamstring injury that saw him ruled out of the France defeat.

"Good to go, thankfully, trained fully at the back end of last week," the 36-year-old told RTÉ Sport.

"I did a day with the physios when we played the Under-20s so good to go."

Joey Carbery started his first championship game in Paris, while Jack Carty came on as a late replacement in the 30-24 loss.

Second row Iain Henderson, meanwhile, will miss the game after a positive Covid-19 test.

Asked about if his preparation for training had changed much as one of the more experienced squad members, he said: "Yeah, of course It's something, as an older athlete, if you want to call me that, or a rugby player, you need to look after yourself well and better.

"I don’t think I could have done much different in terms of my preparation or warm-up or whatever. It’s just one of those things.

"Maybe I was carrying a knock from the Wales game that I was trying to train with that could have had a bearing. You just don’t know for sure.

"I was hoping it wasn’t too bad and we went for a scan and it was bad enough to rule myself out of the game.

"It was a minor enough thing and I bounced back well from it. I had some good training at the back end of last week and then fully today.

"I got some kicking in as well last week and this week so in a good place and fit for selection."

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