Carbery's moment of truth

SPOTLIGHT: Joey Carbery has long been seen as Ireland playmaker Johnny Sexton’s successor at flyhalf and on Saturday he gets his chance to rubberstamp his credentials against a vibrant France in the Six Nations.

With Sexton out with a hamstring injury, Carbery now has the weight of expectation on his shoulders to deliver the team’s 10th successive Test victory against their fellow title favourites in Paris.

It is quite some match to make your first Six Nations start – Carbery having to wait six years since his Test debut due to Sexton’s longevity.

It was a role he gave up on at Leinster, deciding in 2018 that shadowing Sexton was perhaps educational but he needed first team rugby and moved to Munster.

There is little doubting his class. He earned a recall last year from Ireland head coach Andy Farrell having gone through two years of ankle injury misery following the 2019 World Cup.

Carbery’s performances in the wins over New Zealand (29-20) – he came on for the last 15 minutes and kicked three penalties when Sexton was injured – and Argentina (he started and won man of the match) in November made it crystal clear he had won the debate as to who was number two.

Neither Billy Burns nor Ross Byrne, who had been tried at flyhalf in Carbery’s absence when Sexton was unavailable, have had a look in. Connacht’s 29-year-old Jack Carty is now third choice.

However, for all his undoubted quality, questions remain as former Ireland and British & Irish Lions fullback Hugo MacNeill told AFP last week.

“It is imperative to have a credible, authoritative fly-half alternative to back up Johnny Sexton, as the implications at the moment should they be without him are so huge,” said MacNeill.

“It is all about game management. There are a lot of one-sided games with Munster winning easily but the question is can Joey Carbery direct the national team in big matches in Paris and Twickenham (England host Ireland March 12).

“This is still unresolved.”

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‘Different attacking threat’

Sexton has spoken to Carbery about what awaits him and will travel to Paris this weekend.

“Anyone who has been through long term injury knows how difficult it is,” said Carbery, who only returned recently from a fractured elbow.

“So you get to appreciate more the good things in life. I am delighted to be back injury free and going into such a big game at the weekend puts everything into context. I am looking forward to it.”

Carbery, who will on Saturday win his 29th cap since making his debut against New Zealand in 2016, says he and Sexton are different types of people and players but he can still learn from the Irish captain.

“I suppose if I can pick little bits and add it to my game, I’ll be in a good place,” said Carbery last November.

Carbery, born in New Zealand but whose parents returned to Ireland when he was 11, says if all goes well he feels he can one day step fully into Sexton’s boots.

“If the team needs me to do it, I’m more than happy to step in,” he said.

“If I keep working on my game and taking little bits from Johnny and keep improving and stay injury free then hopefully I will be in a good place.

“And, if the time comes, I’ll be happy to step up.”

Carbery has many admirers, none more so than Irish legend Brian O’Driscoll.

“There are definitely aspects of his game to get excited about,” O’Driscoll told Off The Ball podcast last September.

“He’s an attacking threat like I don’t think we have in other No.10s across the board, including Johnny Sexton.

“He’s a completely different attacking type of player than Johnny Sexton.”