Jonny Sexton has said he has been swotting up on his French ahead of his move to Racing Metro and admitted it has been a challenge.
By Declan Whooley
Sexton was speaking at the black-tie Hibernia College Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA) award night in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel last night and while he admitted he is looking forward to the new challenge, he is under no illusions that he needs a firm grasp of the language in order to organise the team.
“Having to speak it with a tutor is a different thing to having to do it for real over there in Paris when you are trying to organise a team,” he confessed in the Irish Independent.
In his first public comments since his move to Paris was revealed, the Lions outhalf has said that he has not spoken the language since his school days, “I’m remembering bits as I go,” he said.
“It will be tough but it is a challenge that I am determined to meet head-on and hopefully it will be a successful one,” he added.
The awards were the 11th staging of the event with Nick Williams of Ulster voted the Hibernia College IRUPA Players’ Player of the Year for 2013 by his fellow players, becoming just the second overseas player to win the award. It comes just days after he was recognised as the RaboDirect PRO12 Player of the Year.
Williams’ Ulster team-mate and Ireland winger Craig Gilroy won the VW Try of the Year for his great score for Ireland against Argentina in the Guinness Series in November, while Connacht’s Robbie Henshaw was awarded the Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year award for 2013.
Denis Hickie was chosen inducted into the BNY Mellon IRUPA Hall of Fame, Munster’s Billy Holland collected the O2 Unsung Hero award, while Simon Zebo was presented with the Newstalk106-108fm Supporters’ Player of the Year as chosen by listeners of ‘Off the Ball’.
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