The veteran fly-half, who turns 37 on Monday, will captain Ireland in the second Test at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin despite walking off the field in the first half of last weekend’s opening series. After a collision with Sam Kane, Sexton failed his first head injury assessment, known as an HIA1, and did not return to the field. Ireland had caused problems earlier, scoring a try through Keith Earls, but New Zealand pulled away with a series of counter tries to eventually win 42-19. Having passed two back-to-back HIAs in the days following the first Test, which is enough to rule out concussion under current regulations, Sexton remained in the starting line-up. He explained the situation on Thursday. “You go for an HIA and you don’t come back, everyone assumes it’s concussion but it’s not,” he said. “Just in case there’s a suspect [concussion] or if there is any doubt about the player. And apparently the independent doctor sensed for whatever reason, my reaction to the bump or if it was a little thing or two on the test, but anyway, that’s history now. “I went away for a test expecting to come back and wasn’t allowed, which is fair enough, that’s why it’s there. It’s there to protect players if there’s a suspected concussion, to keep them out, and that’s what happened with the independent doctor. “As frustrating as it was for me at the time, it’s just life. Yes, go ahead, I did all the tests and apparently it passed them all with flying colors. I’m looking forward to this week.” Although the incident prompted concussion campaign group Progressive Rugby to criticize the HIA process, Sexton praised Ireland’s “outstanding medical staff”. To keep the streak alive, the tourists need a first away win over the All Blacks. Their captain, who has beaten New Zealand three times with Ireland and once most with the British and Irish Lions in 2017, believes his side have put together promising passes at Eden Park and are capable of forcing a referee in Wellington on July 16. “If you can win the second Test, the momentum always swings in your favor and you feel like you have the upper hand,” Sexton said. “But we haven’t really talked about the series. Really, we just get back on the horse and make sure we do our best. “We were happy with some of the things we did last week, but it’s pretty ruthless, isn’t it? We learned that the hard way last Saturday.”
