Sexton sets Irish eyes smiling with one of the great drop goals
JOHNNY Sexton broke French hearts in Paris last night with a match winning 45 metre dropped goal with the last play of the game after 41 pulsating phases during which France had defended with unusual discipline and tenacity at the death.
In fact even in those closing moments France maintained their shape and kept tackling legally and it took a special moment from a special player and a perfectly struck kick on a dirty evening.
The odds were against Sexton landing it but he is a player who habitually mocks the odds. Even he was shaking his head afterwards, mind.
So Ireland have nicked an invaluable away win but it was an incredibly close run thing. Not that Rory Best and his team didn’t deserve victory overall but – possibly due to the conditions – they had failed to put France away and, showing good tenacity, France finally came alive in the last quarter to take the lead with eight minutes remaining in sensational style.
Ireland had cleared the ball in routine fashion to 15 yards inside the France half when replacement scrum-half Antoine Dupont took a quick throw to himself and set off down the tramlines looking for support. Teddy Thomas had read his mind and popped up alongside him and suddenly Ireland were scrambling desperately as the elegant but deceptively quick Thomas set sail.
Three or four Ireland defenders converged on the Racing wing but only Keith Earls could lay a hand on him and it wasn’t enough to prevent a glorious score that was completely out of character in a match lacking such excellence and panache.
Maxime Machenaud converted and there then followed a curious passage of play. France, having finally taken a 13-12 lead, remained positive and soon worked their way upfield dangerously again. This time the excellent Dupont went on one of his darting, stepping runs but something clearly went in his right knee as he took a tackle and fell to ground with a yelp.
Somebody in referee Nigel Owens’ earpiece immediately said HIA and Owens stopped the game for what was, nonetheless, clearly a knee injury. However, the independent match doctor then confirmed that he thought it was a HIA, the importance of that being France would be allowed to replace Dupont with the starting scrum-half Machenaud.
It all seemed a bit dodgy and then France produced a major scrum at the restart to earn a simple penalty 30 yards out. Machenaud is France’s first choice goal kicker, but despite being on the field when the penalty was awarded, France chose to rely on fly-half Anthony Belleau who promptly missed a relatively simple if pressurised kick.
Ireland breathed again. From the French point of view that was the game there and then. They might not have ‘deserved’ to win but the opportunity was there.
All of this drama and excitement was in stark contrast to much of what had gone before. After the fireworks and adrenaline in Cardiff it was all very low key in the first half but that’s Six Nations Rugby for you, famine or feast. In truth, Ireland would have been happy enough with the low octane fare.
The last thing they wanted was an explosive beginning to ignite the normally slumbering Stade de France crowd that might inspire the new look French team.
To turn around 9-3 up with one or two boos already emanating from the home crowd for Les Blues was pretty much spot on although Ireland coach Joe Schmidt might have been a little disappointed with one or two handling errors.
Sexton was on target with three penalties while Machenaud replied with one and that was pretty much it as we waited for the game to take shape. Neither side seriously threatened a try with defences very much on top.
Ireland were strong at the setpiece but unusually for them gave away a clutch of penalties which slowed their momentum. For France young fly-half Matthieu Jalibert was just beginning to hint at a little more fluency behind the scrum when he injured a knee tackling Bundee Aki, after which a little bizarrely he was sent limping down the tunnel for a HIA. These odd HIA decisions need looking at, they leave a bad taste.
There were one or two nuances to enjoy. The French front row spent quite a bit of time trying to wind Cian Healy up, the Leinster man not normally being one to take backward steps. On this occasion however – mindful of a recent ban – the Leinsterman resisted manfully and there was even an opportunity to showcasehis underrated handling skills during one forward rumble with a no-look back pass.
It was pretty physical and there was another departure just before halftime when Josh van de Flier slipped awkwardly into a legal tackle by Guilhem Guirado and appeared to badly twist his knee. Leinster colleague Dan Leavy came on and immediately made an impact with a great take and a powerful surge. Leavy has been in storming form and was something of a surprise omission from the initial line-up.
The third quarter didn’t see a huge upturn in the quality of fare on offer but although Ireland remained vaguely in control they couldn’t stretch their lead which left their supporters feeling nervous. Sexton and Machenaud swapped penalties to make it 12-6.
Around the hour mark and after a good defensive set and steal, France looked up at the scoreboard which clearly demonstrated they were only one converted try from leading the game. From that moment onwards, the action picked up immeasurably with the introduction of the talented and enterprising Dupont also helping the French cause. It wasn’t to be for France and the frustration afterwards was visible.
Somehow they must rally because for them the Six Nations will be over for another year if they lose at Murrayfield on Sunday. The same of course applies to the Scots which should make for a frantic affair. As for Ireland, they dodged a possible bullet here, with one of the great dropped goals in Six Nations history, no more, no less.
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