Jonathan Sexton’s sensational last-gasp drop goal, at the end of 41 exhaustive phases, delivered a dramatic 15-13 win for Ireland over a new-look France side in the Parisian rain.
Jonathan Sexton’s place-kicking accuracy had guided Joe Schmidt’s side towards a 12-3 lead during the third-quarter of this opening round Six Nations Championship clash at Stade de France. Yet, an exuberant French side kept themselves in contention, and Teddy Thomas’ 72nd-minute try edged them in front with the finishing line in sight.
However, following some nerveless kicks out of hand from Sexton, he followed on some strength-sapping carries from his team-mates by spliting the posts from outside the French 10-metre line to hand Ireland a famous victory.
With their opponents under the guidance of a new head coach – Jacques Brunel – Ireland were expected to prevail on their latest trip to Paris. However, their most recent visit to the French capital, two years ago, had ended in an agonising 10-9 defeat.
Just six players remained in Ireland’s starting line-up from that game – a firm indication of how much the squad has evolved since the 2015 World Cup. Sexton was Ireland’s sole scorer two years ago as well, and he got Ireland up and running in the early stages of a physically-demanding encounter.
After advantage had been played by referee Nigel Owens, the Leinster vice-captain stepped up to the kicking tee. From inside the French ’22’, he made no mistake to edge the visitors into an early lead.
With Six Nations debutants Bundee Aki and James Ryan getting their hands on good ball, Ireland initially kept their opponents on the back-foot. Yet, France gradually came to terms with the task at hand, and 14 attacking phases helped them to establish territory deep inside the Irish half.
A knock-on by La Rochelle’s Kévin Gourdon from a quick ‘tap and go’ released the pressure on Joe Schmidt’s men, though, and they ultimately increased their cushion just past the first-quarter mark.
Following strong approach work by Keith Earls, Ireland made significant ground on the right-hand side. This once again led to a penalty close to the French posts, which Sexton once converted in clinical fashion. With opportunities few and far between throughout the opening period, every kick at goal was crucial in terms of gaining momentum on the scoreboard.
A youthful French outfit persisted with their challenge in front of a passionate home support, and they finally opened their account through a Maxime Machenaud penalty on 36 minutes. This kept Ireland on their toes as the interval approached, but when Conor Murray was on the receiving end of a Arthur Iturria shoulder charge, another Sexton three-pointer handed them a 9-3 interval buffer.
This latest effort brought the Rathgar native past the 650 international points barrier, and set Ireland up nicely for the start of the second half. They had to deal with the loss of Josh van der Flier with a suspected knee injury (club-mate Dan Leavy took his place in the back-row), but following terrific work by the Irish pack, Sexton added another penalty seven minutes after the resumption.
Ireland were subsequently penalised for holding on under pressure from the French attack, which left Machenaud with the relatively simple task of cutting their deficit back down to six points.
On a day when he was paired at half-back with 19-year-old wonder kid Matthieu Jalibert, Machenaud was proving his worth to the Les Bleus cause. A wayward Sexton penalty let them off the hook inside the closing quarter, when they produced a moment of real quality to turn the game on its head.
In spite of the best efforts by the retreating Sexton and Earls, Thomas cut inside from the right-flank to touch down at the end of a spectacular run. Machenaud’s conversion meant that the French were now ahead by the bare minimum (13-12), and they had a chance to virtually seal a win from an Anthony Belleau penalty.
However, his off-target effort opened up another avenue of attack for Ireland. Sexton got them on the front-foot with a superb crossfield to Earls, and once he got himself into a pocket of space, he produced a stunning score from long-range.
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