Johnny Sexton not limited to out-half tips in Ireland set-up

Johnny Sexton's remit in Ireland camp won’t be limited to mentoring the out-halves, according to Simon Easterby.

The former World Rugby player of the year, who retired at the end of the World Cup last year when Ireland lost to New Zealand, is not officially part of the coaching ticket but onboard, ostensibly, as an advisor to three relatively inexperienced fly-halves.

But, in addition to sharing his experience with Jack Crowley, Ciarán Frawley and Sam Prendergast, the 39-year-old will be given free rein to add his considerable rugby knowledge to the set-up.

"He has been involved, for a few days when we were in the HPC [high-performance centre in Dublin]," said Easterby, speaking from the team’s training camp in Portugal as Ireland prepare to face the All Blacks on Friday week.

"He’s definitely going to be involved over the next few weeks, transitioning in and out, lending his support to certain individuals within the team.

"Johnny has a wide bit of experience, so we’ll lean on him for other things.

"He’s excited about what potentially he could offer and so are we as coaches, as well as players.

"It’s great to have him in. He’s a great man, he’s a great personality in the group.

"I guess it is to be seen how much time he is involved in the next four weeks, but certainly at the moment we see him being involved.

"He has already been in and potentially he is going to come in and out of camp over the next four weeks."

"A real positivity around him being back involved. He hasn’t been out of the game that long, but he adds a real bit of positivity and guys are delighted that he’s involved."

Sexton, who now works as a commercial manager for a glass and metal packaging company, retired after a 14-year international career where he earned