Ireland icon Johnny Sexton has wasted no time diving into a new venture after turning down a coaching gig with the national squad during the 2024 Six Nations.
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The former skipper, who bid adieu to rugby following the 2023 Rugby world, has embarked on a fresh chapter in his professional journey.
Sexton, now 38, etched his name in rugby history with 119 caps for Ireland, but his focus has shifted gears dramatically.
Trading his jersey for a business suit, the ex-fly-half has taken on the role of commercial manager at Ardagh Group, a powerhouse in the glass and metal industry headquartered in Luxembourg.
Ardagh Group boasts a global footprint as a leading provider of sustainable metal and glass packaging, boasting a sprawling network of 63 production facilities, a workforce of 20,000, and a jaw-dropping revenue exceeding £7.2 billion.
But that’s not all in Sexton’s playbook. He’s also the brains behind JAS Management and Promotions Ltd., a thriving enterprise that raked in £2.4 million in profits in 2022 alone—a hefty increase of nearly £305,000 from the previous year’s earnings.
He said in a statement: “Retirement is never an easy next step for any professional athlete. It is especially hard after the rollercoaster of emotions from the last few weeks in France.
“The sadness and frustration we couldn’t progress further remain, they will for a long time to come but the overarching feeling is the pride I felt playing with such a committed and talented group of players.”
The current 36-man British & Irish Lions squad for 2025, according to the bookies
We found it intriguing to project a smaller squad based on the favored contenders according to bookmakers’ odds as of April19, 2024.
The Lions will play a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV as part of their nine-match tour down under in 2025.
The historic fixture in Adelaide will precede Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
A sell-out at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would smash records for a Lions Test match.
The series finale will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans in Sydney’s Olympic Park.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The bolded players in our proposed Lions squad represent the starting XV, according to current odds.
2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD (36)
BACK-THREE (6)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) – 1/16
- James Lowe (Ireland) – 1/8
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) – 1/5
- Tommy Freeman (England) – 4/9
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England) – 8/11
- Mack Hansen (Ireland) – 2/1
CENTRE (4)
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) – 1/5
- Ollie Lawrence (England) – 1/4
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) – 2/7
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) – 8/11
FLY-HALVES (3)
- George Ford (England) – 1/10
- Marcus Smith (England) – 8/15
- Finn Russell (Scotland) – 8/11