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| - Johnny Sexton says Ireland head coach Andy Farrell's policy of encouraging players to be bolder in speaking out is beginning to bear fruit as they prepare for a Six Nations clash against Scotland. Farrell and attack coach Mike Catt said a lack of communication was partly to blame for last month's 15-13 defeat by France, which came after an opening loss to Wales. They were happier after the 48-10 thumping of Italy but will only be able to tell if Ireland have made genuine progress after their final two games against Scotland -- in Edinburgh on Sunday -- and England. Sexton said Farrell's willingness to give his players greater freedom to express themselves than they had under previous boss Joe Schmidt was a positive move. "I think the group by nature, the larger group, are a quiet group and even the leadership group are a quiet bunch," the Ireland captain said on Wednesday. "They lead by their actions more so than their words but I think they've really come out of their shell over the last year." He added: "Joe did have a leadership group but he didn't encourage them as much as Faz (Farrell) does to really take ownership of it and drive things." Sexton used Leinster and British and Irish Lions team-mate Tadhg Furlong as an example of someone who had "stepped up". The skipper said the 28-year-old prop had used his time constructively while he was out injured for almost a year. "He's got an outstanding rugby brain," said Sexton. "He's got his finger on the pulse, he knows the mood of the group, he senses things really well, he knows when we're a little bit off. "I don't know what he did over the last 10 months, he's really come out of his shell and taken a huge leadership role within the group." Leinster senior coach Stuart Lancaster has also spoken of how quiet the Irish players are compared with their English counterparts. The former England head coach got his Leinster players -- many of whom are part of the Ireland squad -- to undergo a "colour personality test". The four colours range from red for extrovert -- "determined" and "demanding" -- to light blue for introvert -- "logical" and "cautious". Sexton was asked what colour his test had produced. "Light blue... I was planted firmly in the red," he said, grinning. He admitted he had not been an enthusiastic supporter of the approach when it was first proposed. "Some lads were yellow ('sociable' and 'dynamic') and blue -- we had a lot of them and one or two reds," said Sexton. "You learn about yourself and you learn about the other guys and how they react," he added. "When you're a senior player and guys come out of school, you just have to be different. "They're different people, they were brought up differently and it was a huge insight. I was delighted I did it." pi/jw/jc
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