Former Scotland out-half Dan Parks reckons Johnny Sexton is one of the top three rugby players in the world.
The Ireland fly-half missed the opening Six Nations game against Italy as he finished return-to-play protocols after a series of concussions.
Sexton subsequently produced two masterclass performances against France and England before under-performing in defeat to Wales last Saturday.
However, the ex-Connacht player says that the Racing Metro man will bounce back as Ireland look to retain their title with a win in Scotland, while hoping other results go their way.
He told RTÉ Sport: “For his standards, [he was] not at the level he’s used to [against Wales]. I’m sure he’ll fight back this week. I’m sure he’s going to come back this week, he’ll want to have a big game.
“He’s generally the ‘go to’ man for Ireland and he has been playing very well. Look at the statistics: Ireland win a lot of matches, certainly in the Joe Schmidt era and the era before,, they’ve been a very successful team while Johnny’s been there.
“He has turned into one of the top three players in the world at the moment. In the last year or 18 months he’s been absolutely phenomenal.
"His game has gone up to a different level and I actually love watching him play rugby. With [Paul] O’Connell, he’s the backbone of the Irish team.”
Australia-born Parks won 67 caps for Scotland and thinks that his old side are up against it on Saturday (2.30pm, live on RTÉ2) as they try to avoid the wooden spoon.
“It’s going to be very hard against an Irish team that’s just so well drilled and [has] Joe Schmidt and what he provides for that team,” he said.
“I know [Scotland] are going to be up for it but it’s whether or not they are going to be good enough.”
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