Boks to block Sexton’s jibber-jabber

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Johnny Sexton is notorious for constantly getting in the referee’s ear, but the Springboks instead plan to deal with Ireland’s captain from a “rugby perspective” in Dublin on Saturday.

With over 100 Test caps to his name, Ireland captain Sexton will be among the most experienced players on the park against the Boks at the Aviva Stadium.

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The 36-year-old veteran playmaker has become infamous over the past six months for the aggressive manner of his engagement with match officials, which has also been on full display at club level in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

However, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber will have his players on a strict ‘turn-the-other-cheek’ policy if Sexton gets up to his old tricks in this weekend’s outgoing tour opener.

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“We will go off the boil if we start to focus on him,” Nienaber was quoted by Sport24.

“He’s a quality player and we know his attributes as a player, but we can’t get tied up in that. We need to deal with his rugby ability.

“From there, the referee must deal with him. We must deal with him from a rugby perspective.”

Nika Amashukeli (28) from Georgia will be the man in the middle in Dublin. He will be assisted by France’s Mathieu Raynal and Italy’s Andrea Piardi. The TMO is Stuart Terheege from England.

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Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images

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Dylan Jack