LIONS legend Johnny Sexton warned his old boss Joe Schmidt may have an ace up his sleeve for Saturday’s first Test.
Andy Farrell’s kicking coach won two Champions Cups and three Six Nations titles in nine years under Australia chief Schmidt playing for Ireland and Leinster.
The Wallabies struggled to beat Fiji 21-18 last weekend but Sexton reckons the Kiwi — who also helped New Zealand reach the 2023 World Cup final — could play a joker in Brisbane.
He said: “We know how good he is at preparing teams. But he’s been gone six years so you’d like to think that Joe would have evolved, changed his ways and learned from that time with the All Blacks.
“Some of the things he is big on haven’t changed, you can clearly see that.
“But we’ve only seen them for one game and we know, for sure, that Joe likes to set things up and what he showed against Fiji will be very different from what he shows against the Lions.”
Sexton, who won Down Under with the 2013 Lions, has been working with Farrell’s kickers, including the likely Test fly-half Finn Russell, while being a sounding board for any players who need advice.
He added: “Finn’s played very well. He’s controlled things, been composed and place-kicked very well.
“It is about helping these guys out; whether it is the No 10s, the kickers . . . or if Maro Itoje needs certain things.
“He hasn’t asked me about dealing with the refs yet! I’m still waiting, and I might be waiting a long time. Maybe he’ll ask on the plane, on the way home!”
