Ireland’s best player of 2017 has been a model of fearsome consistency

Joey Carbery had a decent game against Fiji and, barring training ground miracles from Tyler Bleyendaal, should cover outhalf for Ireland in the Six Nations.

The man he will be backing up is a class above. A couple of classes. Johnny Sexton did not get to where he is overnight but one thing is for sure - Ireland are an altogether different beast when he is in their starting line-up. He plays with such self-assuredness that it breeds confidence in those around him. He knows exactly what he is doing and exactly what he wants to do. Even when he ends up getting smashed, he often wants that too. Take, for example, the crunching blow he shipped from Argentina forwards Tomas Lavinini and Marcos Kremer. He drew in both men, knowing they were lining him up, got his pass off to Cian Healy and got thwacked.

Ouch!! You ok Johnny?#COYBIG #IREvARGِ pic.twitter.com/iaBG4jRkjt

— JJ Hartigan (@jayhartigan) November 25, 2017

And then you look at the backline when Sexton is in it and you have some real thrust and inventiveness. He gets his passes off quickly and features in some of Ireland's best attacking moves. None of his 52 points scored this year have been tries but there have been three assists in his last two games. His goal-kicking has significantly improved too. When Ireland are awarded a penalty within his range or get a try anywhere past the whitewash there is no expectation, more than hope, that Sexton will make the opposition pay. Watching Sexton in his five Test outings this season, one thing is clear - he scares teams stiff. He gets that split second that causes so much chaos because his opponents are so wary of the damage he can do. Case-in-point: The Sexton Wraparound. How the hell is that still working? But it is because Sexton can do you in so many ways. Most importantly, and the reason Sexton is Ireland's Test Player of the Year, is his consistency. He is reliably, brilliant. Persistently world-class. You take for granted that he will deliver you an outstanding performance. In our player ratings, for the Six Nations and Guinness Series, Sexton scored 9, 8, 7, 8 and 8/10. You know what you are going to get with the man. The other players that stood out, looking back on match reports and ratings over the year, are Tadhg Furlong - the world's best tighthead prop - the excellent Conor Murray and CJ Stander, who delivered some of his best performances of 2017 in the green jersey. Jacob Stockdale played four games for Ireland after making his international debut in June 2017 and has scored four tries, claimed one man-of-the-match award and rated highly in each of his outings. IRELAND'S TOP 5

1. Johnny Sexton
2. CJ Stander
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Conor Murray
5. Jacob Stockdale

Notable mentions, too, for Peter O'Mahony, Andrew Conway and Rob Kearney, while Keith Earls was on fire during the summer trips to the United States and Japan.