Johnny Sexton dismisses Warren Gatland's 'free hit' claim ahead of Cardiff clash

Johnny Sexton has dismissed Warren Gatland's claim that Wales have a 'free hit' against Ireland in Saturday's Six Nations opener.

"The secret, and I’m sure Andy Farrell will be talking about this, is that you don’t run away from that; you look to embrace the expectations of being the No 1 team in the world. "He has brought back some older guys that would suggest he's targeting this game. If he was looking at a free hit, he'd pick all the young lads, give it a lash and see if they can get through to the World Cup.

"Having that extra time together is good, you're trying to get on the same page, get the calls back in your head, get used to playing with different guys again that you don't normally play with. "There were close calls in 2015, 2017," he recalled. "In 2019, they were going for the Grand Slam and we were going for the championship, I remember that day it was terrible weather-wise.

"But it's a tough place to go. Ask any nation, England, Scotland - no-one has that good a record. Even when we won there in 2013 we went on to finish last in the tournament, it doesn't guarantee you anything to get the win."

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