The social media landscape around Ireland’s two outhalves, Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley, was so noxious last week that Andy Farrell was left fuming.
Former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton spoke at the team’s training base on Tuesday of his frustration with much of the discourse – and of his own experiences with the ‘toxic’ nature of social media.
Sexton’s almost 15-year Irish career ended following the last World Cup in France 2023, but it was regularly an arena of conflict for the current assistant coach.
Did Ireland restore confidence ahead of Twickenham showdown?
“I obviously have experienced social media, when it was coming up to big games and around big games,” said Sexton ahead of Ireland’s match against England in the Six Nations in Twickenham on Saturday.
READ MORE
“I made sure I didn’t let it filter into my life, into my mind. Because I knew it would have been toxic, even the good things. There is always someone who has a different opinion.
“So yeah, I knew when to stay away and had all the different settings [on my phone] so it was only those close to me that could contact me and that’s probably the best advice I got and can give to the guys now. Get a lot of the noise and distractions out of your life.”
The coping mechanism he was given to help keep the negativity out of his life and rugby career revolved around the idea of people knocking on the door of his home – some of those people were welcome and others were not.
“Yeah, I got advice myself over the course of my career and that was it,” he said. “If one of these guys knocked on your door, would you let them in? Why do you let them in through social media? That’s probably the best piece of advice I got.”
Sexton’s unusually long international career stretched from 2009 to 2023, the years when social media exploded. But even with his years on the clock and vast experience, Sexton found it a deeply uncomfortable place for himself and occasionally his family.
“Yeah, I’ve been there. It’s tough. It’s a tough place to be. Sometimes you might block out a lot of it and then you’ll see the back page of a paper or someone will make a comment to you on the street. It comes to you.
“What happened to me is a couple of times, my parents would say, ‘did you see what your man said about ya?’
“I just said, ‘mum, can you please stop telling me so ...’ It gets in and you have to have ways and you have to have good people around you to cope with it and try and block out as much as you can, and concentrate on your performance and your preparation. Really narrow your focus.”
The advice of focus has been passed on to the two 10s who played against Italy – Prendergast who started and Crowley who came into the game after 55 minutes. But Sexton is loath to criticise his kickers, the former who missed a few from the tee and the latter who miscued a kick at the end of the match that might have nudged Ireland towards a try bonus point.
“Well, Sam is two from two from France,” said Sexton. “I know he didn’t have a lot of kicks against Italy. He missed a couple of bad ones. It’s a one-off. Could they [do] better? Do they want to be better? I’m sure. Yeah. Like every kicker. You never have it fully nailed. That’s the toughest thing about kicking. It will hit you when you least expect it.
“Sam, he had the ball on a string for 95 per cent of last week and just rushed the first one and that probably rattled him a little bit. We’ve all been there. It’s just important that he learns from it and doesn’t let it happen again.”
Despite his late mistake with that kick to touch, Crowley carried out what was required of him as an impact replacement. His entry into the game gave Ireland energy and speed that was important to the Irish resurgence.
“I think the way he [Crowley] came on and attacked the game at the weekend was very impressive, the energy he brought and, with that, making good decisions. When he was getting the ball with space, he was [on point], that’s a big development for me. I suppose it’s the hardest thing to do in international rugby.
“Now if he starts, he’ll have to do it from minute one. From the start you have to manage the game a bit more, so yeah, each time, whether on the bench or starting, it’s a different challenge.”
