Now 36, Sexton is the oldest member of the Irish squad which was named for the 2022 Guinness Six Nations today and will be looking to win a fourth league title this year.

And for Heaslip, his longtime Ireland and Leinster teammate and now an RTÉ pundit, the closest comparison to Sexton is NFL quarterback Tom Brady, winner of a record seven Super Bowls. and widely regarded as the greatest of all time to play American Football.

“Johnny is on top of everyone else,” Heaslip said, speaking on the day a historic partnership between RTÉ and Virgin Media Television was announced, bringing all the Guinness Six Nations Rugby 2022 action, free to sports Irish. Fans.

“Jack Carty has to take the chance if he gets it, there’s a lot of other guys sniffling. But to me Johnny is the goat, he’s not going anywhere. He’s the Tom Brady of the IRFU right now. He’s not going to give up that jersey. He’s got his head and shoulders and everyone has to step in.

Virgin Media pundit Alan Quinlan agreed, while backing Connacht fly-half Carty to back Sexton.

He said: “Johnny Sexton isn’t giving up the shirt and we saw in November how good his performances were and how important he still is to this team.

“I think it has to be Jack Carty at this point (on the bench) because his form has been exceptional. What happened at the World Cup, there was a bit of a hangover there and it affected his confidence and abilities.

“Obviously it’s a pivotal position and I think the way he’s been playing the last few months has been really, really exciting. He’s developed his game and has more control over his game and seems to have the confidence and the little confidence. excitement you need.

RTÉ and Virgin Media confirm details of free Six Nations coverage #RTERugby #RTESport
https://t.co/qvDcDfaptc

— RTE Rugby (@RTErugby) January 19, 2022

As well as Sexton, Heaslip is delighted to see the progress of Caelan Doris, one of Ireland’s standout performers in the Autumn Nations series, who won three out of three games, including a convincing win over the All Blacks .

Heaslip said: “Caelan Doris, I’m really excited to see him. He has a little international experience to his credit.

“I’m really excited to see it take off and get going and really see what it’s made of. Now that he’s put down a marker, teams will give him a little more attention, a lot more criticism of him behind the scenes.

And while Heaslip believes Ireland will enter the Championship as second favorites, he and Quinlan have tipped the same side to lift the trophy on Super Saturday.

Quinlan said: “The obvious candidates are still France and England. Ireland won a Grand Slam in 2018 by going to Paris and Twickenham and winning. Will this happen again? It’s a big challenge.

“If they can bring the same level of performance and start by winning the first game against Wales, get off to a good start and build up some momentum, they can be in the game.

“But for me, it’s France. They have three home games, they start with Italy, then they have Ireland, finishing with England. If they can do it right, which we saw from them in November and last year as well, they’re really building something, so they’re my favourite.

Virgin Media Television and RTÉ today announced details of their historic partnership to broadcast all rugby action from Six Nations 2022 for free.

From Friday 4 February, coverage includes all Ireland Men’s, Women’s and U-20 matches.#VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/hgkNRBi88R

— Virgin Media Sports (@VMSportIE) January 19, 2022

Heaslip added: “I will say France is my favorite to win, the way they play, the youth they have in the team and the hunger and energy around them. I think it will be a big plus for them. Their clubs are doing well, although Ireland are probably the second favorite. Our clubs are doing very well, all four seem to be potentially qualified for Europe.

“England is an interesting proposition because Eddie did what he did for the last World Cup, 18 months later he eliminates the team, brings in a lot of new faces, starts a fire under a lot of It will be interesting to see how they react to this.

“Ireland, you feel like talking to some of the players that there’s something going on with this group. If they start off on the right foot, that’s all you need. If you take the two out first games and you have two wins under your belt, that’s a lot of momentum for this break.

RTÉ and Virgin Media Television today announced details of their historic partnership to broadcast the full Guinness Six Nations Rugby 2022 action free for Irish sports fans. Coverage will include all matches from the Men’s, Women’s and Under-20 Championships.