JOHNNY SEXTON says his future won't be decided until the Six Nations has concluded.
The out-half will lead Ireland out on his 100th cap against Japan on Saturday and while many would doubht he can still keep going, he refuses to agree with that sentiment.
The 36 year-old signed a one-year deal with the IRFU last spring and this expieres after the summer tests against New Zealand next summer.
Sexton spoke to the media online for his pre-game press conference ahead of his entry into Irish rugby's most exclusive club . He joins Rory Best, Cian Healy, Ronan O'Gara, John Hayes, Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell in the 100 club.
Dublin , Ireland - 2 February 2019; Jonathan Sexton of Ireland . (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)How many he'll win beyond that milestone remains to be seen as he focuses on the here and now.
"At the moment I'm loving it," he said.
"I'm loving training, my body's good, my mind is good and yeah, in an ideal world I'd love to keep going.
"But what I learned last year is that you can't plan too far ahead, you really can't.
"I had everything planned around what I was going to do on the (Lions) tour in the summer and then suddenly it's up in smoke, so I'm taking it game by game, campaign by campaign.
"I think the IRFU have been very good to me over the last seven years since I've come back from Paris in terms of like we made a decision at the end of the Six Nations this year, I don't think it will be any different this year, I think it will be wait until the end of that and see how we all are."
If he hadn't missed the Six Nations game against France last February Sexton would have won his 100th cap against England, but now that he's here he's delighted that a crowd will be in attendance for the first of the three November games.
š£ļø "Just to have the support back is fantastic."
Ireland Captain @JohnnySexton spoke to media today ahead of #IREvJPN at @avivastadium.
Watch the full interview ā¤µļø#TeamOfUs | #IrishRugby | #ShoulderToShoulder | #IREvJPNā Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 2, 2021
Sexton speaks to the media
Any time you play for Ireland is special but we've missed having the support. It's only when you have them back that you realise how much you've missed them," he said.
"You kind of got used to it a little bit through the last 18 months but no, it's been brilliant having them back, the difference that it made with Leinster and now to come into a mostly full Aviva Stadium, hopefully, there's a few more tickets on sale over the next few days but to have that support back is fantastic.
"There's a lot of guys who haven't played in front of a crowd for Ireland you've got to remember so it will be a very special day for them.
āIt will be a proper Test match, thatās what we are preparing for.
"Test matches are tight games, they are games that come down to a few big moments and itās about making sure you are able to take those.
"We need to improve a little bit on the preparation that we have been able to do the last few days because we know that Japan have been together a long time in camp and they have played Australia so they are a bit further ahead in their prep.
"Itās not an excuse, we need to hit the ground running. In years gone by teams probably would have said we are getting ready for the All Blacks, but we are very focused on Japan.
"We havenāt spoken about any of the other games because we know what a big challenge this will be.ā
