Johnny Sexton looks set to come in for some extra attention during Ireland’s first summer tour test with Australia, with the Wallabies looking increasingly likely to target him.
Sexton has been a marked man on the international stage for some time now as teams seek to shut down his kicking game and speaking ahead of the first test at Suncorp Stadium, Reece Hodge revealed that the Aussies will be focusing on the Leinster man.
When asked about how the Wallabies plan to stop Ireland, the Melbourne Rebels utility man replied: "I think there’s a lot of paths to it.
"A lot of it comes down to how much we put pressure on them in terms of their kicking, but also field position is a massive thing for us.
"Being able to put them under pressure with our kicking game as well is a big thing for us.
"We’ve get a style of play that we think is going to work against them and it’s up to us throughout this week to focus on the way we want to play and how we can best put them under pressure."
Hodge is well aware of the threat that the Irish team will present on this tour and believes that Joe Schmidt’s side will offer a real test of Australia’s credentials.
The 23-year-old pointed to the success of both Ireland and Leinster in recent times as a marker of just how strong Irish rugby is right now.
"I think they were a class side in 2016 when we played and it was a real tight game on that occasion, 27-24 I think it was," he said.
"Obviously they’re a class team, they’ve improved over the past years even more so, winning a Grand Slam and Leinster’s great success at club level.
"They’ve got some established players now who know how to win and win consistently, so it’s going to be a massive test for us in the series."
