The selection of Johnny Sexton by the British & Irish Lions for the second Test against New Zealand last year marked a turning point in the series and Ireland are looking for the fly‑half to make a similar impact against Australia in Melbourne after the 18-9 defeat last Saturday.
Sexton is one of eight changes made by the Ireland head coach, Joe Schmidt, from the Brisbane match. Most of the players called up are, like Sexton, from Leinster, who had a hectic end to a season as they won the European Champions Cup and the Pro14.
“Johnny is always happiest when he is on the field,” Schmidt said. “I thought he was superb last week and helped out Joey [Carbery, who started at 10], but he has been able to look after himself a bit more this week and get himself ready to go.”
Defeat would not only cost Ireland the series but would risk their losing second place in the world rankings to Australia whose head coach, Michael Cheika, has – for the first time since taking charge of the Wallabies in 2014 – named an unchanged 23.
“Sexton is a maestro, but he is also one of the toughest roosters out there,” Cheika said. “If we put too much focus on him, he will pick us off. It was pleasing to win last week, but we need to raise our standards if we are to back it up. We had to cram a lot into the first Test because we had not played since last year and it was fair to give the guys another opportunity.”
The return of the back-rower David Pocock after a year’s sabbatical made a difference with Ireland struggling at the breakdown, an area where they excelled in the Six Nations.
“We were a bit flat,” said Schmidt, who expects his players to be sharp second time around.
