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Ireland captain Johnny Sexton believes Scotland stand-off Adam Hastings possesses a \u201cfull bag of tricks\u201d and provides a seamless replacement for the influential Finn Russell.<\/p>\nIreland captain Johnny Sexton believes Scotland stand-off Adam Hastings possesses a \u201cfull bag of tricks\u201d and provides a seamless replacement for the influential Finn Russell.<\/p>\n
Stand-off Russell will be a notable absentee for Saturday\u2019s Guinness Six Nations opener in Dublin after being disciplined for breaching team rules following an alleged late-night drinking session.<\/p>\n
Glasgow Warriors player Hastings was named on Thursday as Russell\u2019s replacement by Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend.<\/p>\n
Irish fly-half Sexton admits to being unsure of the potential impact of Townsend\u2019s enforced reshuffle but has warned that his team-mates must be attentive to the talents of 23-year-old Hastings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like for like, really. When you talk about Finn Russell\u2019s strengths, you\u2019re talking about Adam Hastings\u2019 strengths, they\u2019re all the same,\u201d said Sexton.<\/p>\n
\u201cArguably because he (Hastings) has been playing in Scotland and he\u2019s been playing well, they might have started both of them, in the 10, 12 positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how it will disrupt them, they\u2019ve sort of played it down a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey seem to be happy with where they\u2019re at and he\u2019s a quality player and one that we are going to have to be fully switched on for because he has a full bag of tricks that he can pull out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veteran Sexton is set to return to action for the first time since suffering a knee injury representing Leinster in December.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old, who has replaced the retired Rory Best as skipper, came through Ireland\u2019s pre-tournament training camp in Portugal unscathed and insists he is \u201craring to go\u201d.<\/p>\n
He will continue his long-standing halfback partnership with Conor Murray at the Aviva Stadium after new head coach Andy Farrell resisted calls for the in-form John Cooney to come in at scrum-half.<\/p>\n
With Ulster man Cooney having to settle for a spot among the replacements and Luke McGrath overlooked by Farrell, Sexton believes his country is fortunate to have such strength in the number nine position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think competition is what every good side relies on,\u201d said Sexton.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got guys that are coming up, whether it\u2019s behind you or with you, and you\u2019re all fighting for one place, it spurs you on.<\/p>\n
\u201cConor has always been very self-driven from day one. He concentrates on himself and he\u2019s looked sharp over the last 10 days, like all the nines have.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel for Luke, he\u2019s trained the house down and he\u2019s gone home today. We\u2019re blessed to have the quality and number of nines that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Murray-Cooney conundrum was the biggest dilemma facing Farrell ahead of his first team announcement, the inclusion of uncapped Leinster duo Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher also caught the eye.<\/p>\n
Doris will start in the no. 8 position, while fellow 21-year-old Kelleher could make his debut from the bench after recently recovering from a fractured hand.<\/p>\n
Ulster\u2019s Rob Herring has been given the nod ahead of Kelleher at hooker and is tasked with filling the sizable boots vacated by former skipper Best on his maiden Six Nations appearance.<\/p>\n
The South Africa-born 29-year-old is eager to seize his opportunity after being an unused member of previous Six Nations squads and admits there is pressure with Kelleher waiting in the wings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis might be my fourth campaign, never managed to get on the pitch. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been working towards for a long time now and something I\u2019ve dreamed about,\u201d said Herring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of competition in the squad, ultimately that\u2019s what makes you better. If you want to be driving the highest standards, that\u2019s what you need, no-one\u2019s place is safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all trying to stick our hands up to get that number two jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving not seen much of Ronan before, he\u2019s impressed. He\u2019s a pretty big boy, he\u2019s pretty confident as well.\u201d<\/p>\n