Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are looking no further than crucial Scotland clash

Captain Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are not thinking about anything beyond Scotland as they seek to avoid complacency following previous World Cup failures.

Andy Farrell’s men are within touching distance of the quarter-finals and a likely clash with either hosts France or three-time winners New Zealand.

Yet, despite defeating defending champions South Africa in Paris to register a third consecutive Pool B victory, rugby’s top-ranked team could still be denied a spot in the knock-out stages by the Scots.

Experienced fly-half Sexton, who has suffered last-eight exits at his previous three World Cups, admits his side cannot get ahead of themselves.

“We are not talking about being champions, we are talking about the next game,” he said on the back of the 13-8 win over the Springboks.

“Now it’s all about Scotland. We’re not thinking about anything beyond that.

“Scotland are an excellent team. I think that they would be frustrated about how they played against South Africa (an 18-3 loss on September 10th).

Time to rest and reset ahead of our final Pool B outing!