Jonathan Sexton at the heart of Ireland’s golden men in green

Brodie Retallick was not an unexpected choice as World Rugby’s player of the year, a second-row who blends his duties in the set pieces with a presence and athleticism in the loose, but Jonathan Sexton would have pushed him very close.

Like New Zealand, Ireland have lost only one match this year. Their summer tour may have been to the lowest-ranked team in the Rugby Championship, Argentina, but the Pumas beat Australia at home this year and blew a 12-point lead against South Africa to go down by two. Sexton, the leading fly-half in the world this year at least, played the part of conductor with relish.

Sexton played in nine of Ireland’s 10 matches in 2014, missing only the victory over Georgia. He scored 117 points, including four tries, and his one significant blemish came during their only defeat, at Twickenham. After England had pulled back to 10-6 behind with a penalty early in the second-half, Sexton put the restart directly out of play and the home side scored what turned out to be the winning try from the subsequent scrum.

Otherwise Sexton has been the voice of his coach, Joe Schmidt, who after masterminding success in the Six Nations and an unbeaten autumn series, when South Africa and Australia were defeated in Dublin, will be in line for an award, even if his fly-half missed out. The bookmakers have made England the favourites for the 2015 Six Nations, even though Stuart Lancaster’s side have to travel to Wales and Ireland, but it is the men in green who are in a golden period.

The popular consent was that Ireland were not at their best against Australia on Saturday, surrendering an early 17-point lead to evoke memories of their match against New Zealand the year before, but they finished in a manner England and Wales have been unable to against the Sanzar nations this month, keeping their heads.

Sexton is playing with supreme confidence, abetted by his half-back partner Conor Murray. It is his virtuosity, a man for all seasons, that has helped make Ireland Europe’s form team this year. Schmidt tailors his tactics to the opponents Ireland are facing and his approach does not lack rigidity – he discourages offloading unless the manoeuvre is loaded more with certainty than chance – but he is not prescriptive to the point where players are exposed when a match reaches the point when instinct and the capacity to think quickly takes over.

New Zealand were facing defeat against Wales with 11 minutes to go in Cardiff last weekend. They had started by employing an attacking kicking strategy that was repelled – Wales effectively turning possession over seven times out of seven – and when they moved the ball they found Jamie Roberts leading a defence that was sustained in its aggression. Even Sonny Bill Williams was reduced to the ranks of the mortals.

The All Blacks did not become desperate. They brought the outside-half Colin Slade off the bench, moved Beauden Barrett to full-back and returned to using kicks, whether diagonal, chipped or dinks behind the rush defence (worms as they are called by coaches): one yielded a try, with the aid of a kind bounce that was a reward for precision, and a second, higher and targeting the Wales in-goal area, was tapped back to ensure a scoreline that did not reflect the effort and pressure put in by Wales but which did illustrate how far New Zealand are ahead of the rest.

New Zealand have become masters of attacking by kicking into space, a tactic used this month by Ireland and Scotland, who are both coached by Kiwis, but not by England in their Tests against New Zealand and South Africa when they fielded a combination at 10, 12 and 13 that not only lacked balance but which did not have a tactical hub and there was no Alex Goode on the bench.

George Ford provided a difference last week against Samoa, a No10 who varies his game, and it would be instructive to see him in partnership with Lee Dickson, a scrum-half who is adept at the attacking kick, as he showed for Northampton at Saracens on Sunday when kicking the ball with the outside of his right foot as he ran to the left in the opposition 22 to create a try for James Wilson.

Schmidt has brought variety to Ireland’s game with Sexton exerting a control against South Africa that Owen Farrell was unable to for England. Farrell may have lost his place to Ford and his return to inside-centre may have been a triumph of hope over expectation with a player looking to recover his form effectively demoted, but he has the strength of character to put Ford under pressure next year.

Ford spots opportunities quickly, something of an artist in a scientific era. He showed durability against Samoa, not deterred from attacking the line by some thunderous tackles on him. For all his natural talent, he will need Farrell’s mental strength to succeed at the highest level and he made an assertive start.

Rhys Priestland began his Test career at 10 with Wales equally impressively, but has since suffered a loss of confidence after a run of injuries. Dan Biggar has taken over at fly-half: a player who made a number of costly mistakes in his early matches, which tended to be against the weakest opponents in an autumn series when he was one of a number of changes, is maturing into the tactician his side have lacked in the last 18 months.

His half-back partnership with Rhys Webb has been one of the gains for Wales this month as they again reflect on their failure to close out matches against the Sanzar nations. They have a final chance on Saturday with South Africa, who like their hosts will be below strength because players have returned to clubs who are not obliged to release them for a Test played outside the official window, and if they are to prevail, Biggar will need to show the touch that his fly-half rivals such as Sexton, Bernard Foley, Barrett, Pat Lambie and Ford have this month.

The former England second-row Ben Kay remarked this week that the difference between New Zealand and the rest is that the All Blacks are match fit while their rivals are gym fit. Warren Gatland has achieved a considerable amount in the seven years he has been in charge of Wales: in terms of raw ability, preparation and conditioning, they are up there but he cannot control the minds of his players at the end of a game when quick thinking is the difference between victory and defeat.

If Wales are to end their losing run against the major southern hemisphere nations against South Africa on Saturday, and make an impact in the World Cup, Biggar will be even more important than the imposing three-quarter line outside him. Sexton points the way.