RUGBY: JOHN O'SULLIVANtalks to the Leinster outhalf who was glad to get an extra week to blow away the cobwebs before Saturday night's Brive game

JONATHAN SEXTON will make his 50th appearance for Leinster in their Heineken Cup clash at the RDS on Saturday. He wasn’t aware of the milestone but having absorbed the information, his second inclination after expressing a certain satisfaction, was to muse about the fact that several of his contemporaries age wise in the provincial squad have many more caps.

It’s a classic illustration of a driven young man. The 24-year-old has been sidelined since breaking his hand – halfway down a metacarpal – while helping Ireland beat South Africa at Croke Park in the final November Test. It occurred in the second last play of the game and unusually came from an impact at the top of his fingers, sustained in making a tackle. It’s fair to say that he made for an impatient patient. He smiled: “I felt after four weeks maybe I could have played and I was dying to play but the doctors had said there’s no point. (They told me) if you get a bang, you might need an operation, so it was best just to leave it and I’m delighted I did now in hindsight because it’s 100 per cent right.

“It is not the most severe injury, only two fractured bones in the hand; it’s so annoying being 100 per cent fit in every other aspect and not being able to play because of a small fracture.”

Sexton will wear a hurling glove on Saturday night, not because he’s worried but as a sensible precaution in his first competitive outing since suffering the damage. He’s come through several rigorous contact sessions in which his team-mates wouldn’t have been accommodating of his hand. During his enforced sabbatical he maintained his place-kicking regimen before the conditioning staff demanded his presence as his return-date approached.

“Well I did a few (kicking) sessions alright; I took a full week off as well in those four or five weeks and I haven’t been able to do as much kicking (recently) because the fitness coaches have got their hands on me for the last two weeks. I felt like I have been back in pre-season. So the last two weeks have been tough and I’m looking forward to getting back into games.”

He was due to be involved in last weekend’s Magners League game against the Glasgow Warriors before the game fell foul of the weather. Training can never ape a match situation and Sexton was keen to brush off the cobwebs of inactivity.

“I felt I needed a game after not having played for six weeks but the game being cancelled gave me another week to get back working with the ball and to get back playing with the lads. At the start of last week I felt rusty at best and now I feel a lot more confident going into this game. The extra week has probably done me good.”

Brive’s intentions are not yet known. They will be potentially unrecognisable from the side that were hammered at home by Leinster earlier in the tournament. A new coaching regime has sparked a turnaround in fortunes and their recent form in the French Top 14, manifest in victories over Toulouse and Perpignan, is impressive.

Sexton agrees that there is little point in dwelling on uncertainty in terms of the possible composition of the Brive team, strength-wise.

On a personal level, he’s well aware of the upcoming Six Nations Championship and the fact that he has two high profile games to retain the national jersey when Ireland open their campaign against Italy at Croke Park next month.

“I can’t go out and try and force it. I have been watching the other games and am aware of how well Ronan (O’Gara) is playing and the other outhalves in the other provinces.

“The danger for me now is about trying to go out and do everything myself, put a marker down. If I can go out and play well and do the basics well, then Leinster will get the right result.

“If I make my decisions around the team, we’ll play well. Obviously I still want to put down a little marker and get back to good form quickly but again I can’t be thinking about that. It’s about going out and trying to play myself into the game early and see how it goes from there.

“I feel fresh, I feel like I am starting a new season which is probably a good thing half way through a season. I have no bangs and no strains and they are the positives I am taking out of it (the injury).”

When Saturday comes he’ll be ready.