Obsessed: The Autobiography

by Johnny Sexton

'Sexton will go down as Ireland's greatest ever player' Gordon D'Arcy, Irish Times

No Irish rugby player has ever achieved more, or been a source of more inspiration to teammates and fans alike, than Johnny Sexton. All of this would have seemed highly unlikely as late as May 2009, when – approaching his 24th birthday – he was nowhere near first choice at Leinster, and still uncapped by Ireland.

In his hotly anticipated autobiography, Johnny will tell the story of his life, and explore the sources of his unmatched will to win. The Sexton era – marked by four European Cups, four Six Nations championships (including two Grand Slams), unprecedented victories in the Southern Hemisphere, two stints for Ireland at number 1 in the world, and the World Player of the Year award – was above all the time when Leinster and Ireland went from being underachievers to being overachievers.

Always outspoken on and off the field, Sexton will offer an honest look at his childhood, his sometimes unpromising-seeming early experiences in club and professional rugby, his relationships with key teammates and coaches (including Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell, Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell), and his ideas about the game.

Genres: Nonfiction, Irish Literature, Audiobook, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography, Sports

320 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2024

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest memoir. Without a shadow of a doubt, Ireland’s greatest ever player #MerciJohnny

[Akshara O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective on leadership that definitely changed my opinion of Sexton personally (🥴) but some of his ways must have worked and contributed to massive successes. You also have to appreciate his honesty in acknowledging his faults as a teammate

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

One of the best rugby autobiographies I have read. Having grown up watching his career for my favourite teams in my favourite sport, I loved the honesty that the forever divisive Johnny presents in his book.

He presents his view over the last 15 years of Irish rugby and his career in a manner that is very typically Johnny Sexton. He is firm in his stances and takes us through how he had to learn mould his personality to further his teams.

One of the greats of Irish rugby.

[Louis Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A top class autobiography, can tell Johnny boy is truly obsessed with his rugby. Not enough insight into his personal life to earn the full five stars.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 / 5

A good read that does well to highlight some key moments in a career and gives a really good insight into life as an Irish rugby player.

Found his own personal flaws the best part of the book as it was a really honest way of presenting himself.

Good sports book for sure that will be in a lot of D4 daddies Christmas stockings

[Damhnait O’Loughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very honest account of a great career

[Cathal McGuinness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah it's a very enjoyable read, it's a bit cringey at times but a great read for rugby nerds and some very insightful comments on leadership and mental stability. From a notoriously chill, calm rugby player

[Lydia Hibbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

i actually really enjoyed this, his writing style really got you in even if your rugby knowledge is limited. I feel like listening to it as an audiobook was so much better especially as the narration was between sexton and another person with a similar accent. overall i loved it and the ending was suprisingly emosh… your still the best dad will always get me 😭😭

[Aishling Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen to this book on Audible only disappointment was it wasn’t read by Johnny himself.
What a rugby player and what a career he gave us all some amazing rugby games over the years and we will miss him on the pitch
A true legend for both Leinster 💙💙and Ireland 🇮🇪.

[Rutger Gerrits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book, but almost a must read for big fans of the man, Leinster or Ireland.

[Cian Aherne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classically brilliant Irish curmudgeon…not sure he’s great craic to be around but that’s what made him as great as he was!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest autobiography by an incredible rugby player but flawed human. Let down by bad editing and mispronunciations in the audio narration.

[Tadhg O'Neill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable read, this book has gotten me back into reading. Seeing as I grew up when Johnny started playing rugby, he was hugely influential and provided me with many incredible memories. As a result, it was a nice trip down memory lane reading this book and his journey, remembering the different names in rugby that he mentioned and rewatching some of the moments he spoke about. Interesting to get an insight into the life of someone who at one point was considered the best in the world at what he does, about his struggles and how he dealt with them.

[Walter Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very ho-hum autobiography, in the lacklustre tradition of autobiographies of professional sportspeople. Rushed out upon retirement, it's mainly an anodyne list of matches played. Judging by the frequency of reference to certain incidents, Sexton seems to have been a somewhat difficult person to interact with, and his motivations were often a seething sense of injustice. Not for him to describe the beauty of a move, the wonder at the abilities of an opponent, the pleasure of travel. He's more about satisfaction at a win, disappointment at loss. If thats yourstyle, you'll enjoy it.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately he comes across terribly… I’m not sure how intentional this was. There are moments of self-deprecation intertwined with genuinely wanting the worst for others. Some interesting insights for a Leinster and Ireland fan though

[Ben Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictably intense!

[Tim Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read but no great insights. Some interesting bits. Maybe a little too polished.

[Adrian Klackers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obsessed — Johnny Sexton (Autobiography, 2024)

📦 Precision. Pressure. A career carved from fierce self demand.
💥 A psychological portrait of competitiveness pushed to its outer edge.
📍 Dublin, Paris, test match battlegrounds, and the internal stadium of the mind.
🗝 Obsession, resilience, legacy. Sexton does not romanticise his drive; he interrogates it. The narrative’s heartbeat is intensity — how ambition sharpens, isolates, and ultimately defines. Withdrawals, injuries, tactical mastery, the hunger to control outcomes: all rendered with clinical self awareness.

What if perfection was not a goal but a daily interrogation?

Sexton’s memoir is a ledger of sacrifice. He writes with candour about the solitude of obsession, the cost of excellence measured in family time, health, and the relentless demand to control outcomes. The book’s rhythm alternates between battlefield and confession: tactical dissections of matches, then stark admissions of the toll ambition exacts. Sexton’s honesty stings because it is unvarnished — obsession is both scaffolding and shackle.

If you like memoirs where drive is indistinguishable from danger, this delivers the same moral unease as dramas where ambition is both gift and curse.

💭 “Excellence is expensive; it charges interest in solitude.”
💭 “You don’t chase perfection — you interrogate it daily.”

📚 Why @KlacksReads recommends: Because it exposes the anatomy of elite performance with honesty that compels — showing how obsession builds greatness but erodes balance.

@KlacksReads · London · 14 November 2025

[RJ Deeds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though I'm a big sports fan, rugby particularly, I find sports books and journalism pretty boring. I was asked what I'd like for Christmas and being caught off guard suggested the Johnny Sexton bio... after just finishing it, I am asking myself why?

The story can be summed up easily - I'm obsessed with rugby, I hate losing, I've little interests outside rugby and I demand high standards of everyone around me, pissing most people off. I'm not sure I knew much more about the person after the book than I did before reading it, getting no real sense of the wider persona (maybe there isn't one?). It's all match and training anecdotes, if that's your thing. I'm sure he must have done some some charity work -won't find anything here. I'm sure he thought about what he'd do when he retired - again nothing. The book felt like AN Other writing about her life at work and giving away nothing beyond 9-5.

I'm sure rugby nerds will love it - I am rugby mad - but as a book, I couldn't wait to finish it. All hype without substance, I'm afraid.

[Patrick King · Rating 3 out of 5]

STRESSED - would have been another choice for a title and perhaps the fact the two go together in his telling is a sign of the honesty he writes with. He doesn’t rose tint things or explain away actions more than through his obsession to be the best player or team.

So why a three star, I was actually thinking early on that it would be a 2… Clubhouse stories only lightly entertaining and other than explaining who and what made Johnny the first 3/4 of the book is solely focused on this. But as he seems to develop as a leader the story with Schmidt, Lancaster and Farrell is more of general interest and applicability.

I find it stressful to read as well because success is quickly enjoyed while failure or injuries linger as ever present in the now. You just hope he’s happy with his achievements.

Overall, this autobiography comes across as honest but limited in applicability beyond understanding Jonathan Sexton.

[Nanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this autobiography.

Have a lot of thoughts, and didn't expect the level of detail Sexton went in when it came describing personal reflections, his relationships with players and coaches alike, and the thought behind games, training and life in general.

Honestly wasn't expecting a lot, but I was definitely proven wrong. I used to think of him as a short tempered player and didn't have too high an opinion of him, but that's definitely changed after reading this (for the better, though some opinions were just proven a little stronger ahah).

Honestly a hard slow read, due to having to process all the information as there's a lot of things to digest, but in a really satisfying way! Like when you have a good meal that has a lot of flavors, and some you like, others you're never tried before and have no information or previous experience with, and some you just don't appreciate.

Altogether, I enjoyed reading. Was very informative :)

[Issy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m of the belief that there is two kinds of autobiographies - ones that provide you with a ‘behind the scenes’ look of a person, and the ones that read like a Wikipedia page. This is one of the latter.

Obsessed is basically a chronological storyline of Sexton’s career. And hey, as it’s an autobiography, there’s nothing wrong with that. But unlike some that give you an understanding of situations, this book tells you what you already know. Nor does Johnny paint himself in a very appealing light.

To top it off, it’s hard to believe any of it when he specifically says he would never go into coaching, lambasting referees (a VERY common theme) in his description of why he finds it such a turn off, only to be a part-time coach already for the IRFU.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting sports autobiography. But I also found that there were parts missing. There’s 2 or 3 chapters about the Senior Cup in Mary’s but one chapter covering his entire time in France. And for someone so reflecting and critical of himself there’s no analysis of what it was like to be the only Irish player (to my knowledge) who has been picked while playing abroad. I would have liked more on that and more on the relationship with his mam who seems like more of an extra than a main character. That all being said, you can see exactly how he became Irelands best ever outhalf but my god his perfectionism is absolutely off the charts.

[B Mur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, detailed, considered. Johnny takes an analytical look back on one of the most stellar careers in rugby, recognising where he might do things differently a second time around, but also fighting his corner.

An inisght into one of rugby’s most interesting personalities after the career he has had promised to be an excellent read. It turned out to be just that. Well-structured and engaging - the book captured Johnny’s thoughts on the developments at critical points in his career really effectively.

I would recommend this book to any rugby fan.

[Niall Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the better sports autobiographies I have read, probably because of how many of my own memories it brought up. As a huge Ireland and Leinster fan who attended many of the games that are mentioned in this book it really reminded me of the moments and let me relive them from Sextons perspective. The most important thing to note is that the only time Johnny Sexton and I were head to head (the 2003 leaving cert), I scored 5 points more 😉

[Murray Conway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced and captivating auto-biography from one of rugby’s greatest fly-halves. This is a fascinating read that covers some of the most prolific periods in Irish rugby’s professional era.

This guy was born to be a rugby player. His leadership as field marshal and his relentless obsession with winning are worth reading about.

Some interesting tidbits on refereeing, concussions and where modern day rugby needs to improve.

[Lisa Wynne]

As a major Irish- and Leinster-rugby fan I was always going to read this. Is it much the same as any other rugby memoir? Yes, it hits all the same notes, but Sexton’s career looms so large in my fan experience that I found the book insightful and interesting. He owns (and only sometimes apologises for) being the asshole throughout his career, though rarely is he the villain. After living all of the emotional highs and lows, particularly over the last ten or twelve years of his career, it was good to sit through them with him. Except for the 2023 World Cup quarter final, I will never be over that, but to fair, nor will he.

[BrianC75 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looked forward to this. Have played and coached rugby in Ireland over a forty year period. Admired Sexton greatly as a player - rated him as up with the very very best out halves in world rugby EVER.
The book I found a little tedious in style, his repetitive formulaic roll out of narrative and his habitual criticism of others and a tendency to ‘whinge’ grated with me. I found that, UNFORTUNATELY, the book did not reflect the quality of the player.

[James Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always found Sexton to be very direct/awkward/honest/arrogant and the combination just makes him very interesting. Book is good, he comes across as a complete twat at times and some of the macho stuff is a bit embarrassing but for some reason I still find him very likeable. Book enjoyable and engaging, I knew very little about Leinster/Ireland apart from the past 5 years so gives some good insights into Irish rugby before that too