Joe Marler says Johnny Sexton is one of rugby’s great warriors - but insists England are not running scared of Ireland.
Sexton heads to Twickenham this Saturday fresh from signing a contract extension to play on until next year’s World Cup when he will be in his 39th year.
That will make the Ireland captain, poised for his 104th cap, one of the oldest to play the sport internationally. “Absolutely ridiculous,” as Marler put it.
The prop said: “Johnny is in the top three most competitive blokes I have come across in rugby.
“I remember a team run on the 2017 Lions tour when Dan Cole dropped his shoulder into him off the ball.
“Oh my god, the uproar afterwards from him shouting and screaming in Coley’s face. I was like ‘oh my god, no other 10 would bother with the miserable, giant Colar Bear and he is going for it’.
“The standards Johnny demands are astronomical. You can see why Ireland wanted him to sign on for longer.”
Sexton’s presence is just one of the reasons Eddie Jones claims to agree with the bookies that England go into the game as underdogs.
But Marler is not having that, saying: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like an underdog at Twickenham.
“I know how good Ireland are. I know how good their tightheads are, how good their pack and their attacking system is. But at Twickenham I’ve never thought, ‘I feel like an underdog this week’.”
Former Ireland boss Eddie O’Sullivan has warned the men in green to expect a “bar room brawl” - and Marler agrees that is “probably a fair assumption”.
He said: “It’s going to be a ding-dong. A nice, clean bar brawl, though. None of the dirty stuff. No gouging or glass-throwing.”
Sexton admits the atmosphere created by 82,000 Twickenham fans and the intensity England will bring to their home patch is going "to hit" his team.
“It's such a hard thing to do in international rugby, to go into a hostile environment like this in front of a majority English crowd and perform," the fly-half added.
The game within the game for Sexton is trying to get the better of opposite number Marcus Smith in the clash of the 10s.
Smith was 10 years old when the two-time Lion made his Test debut in 2009 and Sexton admitted: “Marcus has got it all.
“He has come in and had a big impact on international rugby already, hasn't he? Especially at such a young age. To win a Premiership, to go on a Lions tour so young - he's ticking a lot of boxes already.
“He's been very impressive so far, he's shown all the tricks. His short kicking game, good passing game, a good running game.
"He's got the world at his feet. If he can keep those feet on the ground he'll be a big player for England over the next 10-15 years."
