Should the IRFU buy Johnny Sexton out of his Racing Metro contract this summer? Without wanting to step on the financially flush but results poor French club's toes, Brian O'Driscoll reckons so. As reported in the Irish Times today, the centre admitted that it would help Ireland's World Cup prospects no end if Sexton were to up-sticks and return to Leinster.
I don’t want to talk out of turn where Johnny is contracted to Racing, and I think it would be disrespectful to them to say we were looking at taking him away from them... I think everyone is in agreement that we didn’t want to see him go, and if a situation arose where he did come back, and some agreement was made, I don’t see that possibly being a negative.
The #bringsextonhome hashtag has yet to gather too much steam on Twitter but if Sexton were to be struck with an injury in a typically Top 14 encounter, like one of those innumerate French out-half cripples that are currently hobbling around treatment tables, then it may gather momentum.
When someone as influential as BOD gets talking, it's real- #BringSextonhome http://t.co/kndcLjjjd1 via @IrishTimes
— Catherine Kavanagh (@KavanaghCk) March 3, 2014
The #bringsextonhome thing sounds like a bit of a pipe dream. Hugely expensive and logistically almost impossible, non?
— Whiff of Cordite (@WhiffofCordite) March 3, 2014
Joe Schmidt hasn't been slow to grumble about Sexton's current situation, and admits that Irish rugby can't control what happens to the outhalf. O'Driscoll acknowledged this much today
And I’m sure the national management would like to be able to control his game-time a little bit more than they currently can.
