Lord of the Dance
Sexton baby arrival may hasten Racing departure
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Sexton baby arrival may hasten Racing departure

IRELAND out-half Jonny Sexton has hinted that the arrival of a baby may convince himself and wife Laura to return home to Ireland.

The Racing Metro star has a year left on his contract. The Parisian club are keen to extend Sexton’s stay beyond 2015 but the former Leinster man is not in a hurry to renew his contract.

"They [Racing] are keen to get talking now and I've said, 'let's wait until the end of the season'," Sexton said yesterday.

"It's a family decision now, we've a baby on the way, me and Laura, and it's very much a case of 'let's see how that goes' – having a kid here and not having grandparents, aunties and uncles to look after it.

"We'll just have to see how that goes for the next few months, all being well, touch wood, we'll see what the options are then.

"You don't make decisions based on one game or two games. From a professional point of view there is still a long way to go, there are still some frustrations and days where it's great and you love it – the lifestyle and stuff.

"There are still things you miss from home. I was home last week and you quickly dip back into that routine, remembering the good old days.

"There's a lot of rugby to be played, there's the Argentina tour, so I'll wait until that's over before thinking about it. It's tough not to think about it, though, you do spend a lot of your time thinking about whether you want to go home or stay, but I'll just have to bide my time and see what the options are."

Sexton added that he would be keen to travel with Ireland to their summer tour of Argentina.

"I'd love to go, yeah," he said. "I missed quite a lot of games last year in the Six Nations. Every cap you get for Ireland is important. It's a massive motivation to play for Ireland every chance you get."

"You do get more confident when you become used to the speed and the level, because when you start you're coming from school rugby or club rugby and it's a different level again.

"It sort of pushed me to train over the summer, keep fit and roll into the next season and be ready to take my chance."