RUGBY
Sexton delivers magical moment in Paris
By Daire Walsh
JONATHAN Sexton produced a moment of sheer magic at Stade de France on Saturday to keep Ireland’s Six Nations Grand Slam hopes alive heading into round two.
Joe Schmidt’s side had controlled the scoreboard for the vast majority of a physically exhausting contest against a youthful France, with Sexton offering 12 points off the kicking tee.
However, the hosts always kept within range, and Teddy Thomas’ superb converted try edged them in front late on. Ireland were staring a morale-sapping defeat in the face, before Sexton stepped forward to nail a long-range drop-goal deep into stoppage-time.
Ireland had lost from a similar situation in Paris just two years beforehand – and this was undoubtedly in the back of their minds when they were made hot favourites for victory in this Championship opener.
There had also been some off-field concerns for Irish rugby in the build-up to the game, with the presence of Rory Best and Iain Henderson at the ongoing trial of Ulster team-mates Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding attracting significant media attention.
While Schmidt largely stuck with tried and trusted performers in his first starting line-up of 2018, there were Six Nations debuts for Connacht’s Bundee Aki and Leinster lock James Ryan. Joey Carbery also featured in a match day squad for the very first time at this level (though he remained on the bench throughout) and he was joined there by Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden.
A routine Sexton penalty moved Ireland into the ascendancy during the early exchanges, and he also split the posts from a subsequent place-kick just past the first-quarter mark.
France – who grew into the game as the half develop – eventually opened their account through a Maxime Machenaud three-pointer. Yet, following a heavy tackle by Arthur Iturria on Conor Murray, Sexton’s third score provided Ireland with a 9-3 interval lead.
Swapped efforts from Sexton and Machenaud kept Ireland’s cushion at six points after the restart. The Leinster vice-captain had an opportunity to kill the game off from a 63rd-minute strike, but his fifth effort of the day was surprisingly off-target.
This lifted the spirits of the French, and Thomas raced through a gap in the Irish defence to secure a magnificent score underneath the uprights. After he was successful with a bonus attempt, replacement Anthony Belleau had a chance to stretch France’s lead to four points on 78 minutes.
His wayward kick was the launch pad for Ireland’s final assault inside the French half, though, and after 41 attacking phases had gotten them into enemy territory, Sexton pull off a match-winning score.
Changes are expected for Ireland’s encounter with Italy this weekend, and this could well be good news for Carbery and McFadden – who was on the field for the tension-filled conclusion to Saturday’s game.
Meanwhile, six days on from their senior side’s magnificent success over Pres Bray, Newbridge College will face St Mary’s College in the Leinster Schools Junior Cup at Donnybrook later this afternoon (3pm).