#3. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
The 2021/22 campaign could be the last for the Ireland playmaker, whose failure to make the 2021 Lions squad is a blow he doesn’t think he’ll overcome.
“I’ve had lots of setbacks in my career and now it’s up to me to bounce back this season. Not that I’m over it. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it but I’ve come to terms with it. I accepted it a long time ago that it wasn’t going to be,” Sexton said at a MACE press event.
“I’ll be honest, over the summer when you get a lot of free time and you don’t have games to focus on and you do have a lot of time to think, I got drawn into thinking ‘Is this my last (season)?’ And I’m trying to get away from that,” he added.
“But rugby is such a tough game, if you are planning too far ahead even as a 23 or 24-year-old, one injury in training or in a match can finish you. So I’m trying to focus on the here and now and we’ll make those decisions later on in the year.”