Beyond the subsequent game, past even this Six Nations and the chance of an Irish grand slam, there is the World Cup. After Ireland’s super 32-19 victory over France, Johnny Sexton subsequently permit slip that he’s been thinking about it, too, just similar to all and sundry else.
“If the whole thing goes to devise, and we get thru our organization there is a danger we are able to play France once more within the World Cup,” he said. “So it became top to get that off our returned, in terms of beating them, as they have been the most effective crew we hadn’t overwhelmed.” France had gained the beyond three matches between them.France and Ireland, the 2 nice groups inside the global, will play every different within the area-finals of the match if one wins their organization and the alternative finishes runner-up. Given the manner they here, it’s miles perhaps more likely they meet in the final.
“It turned into a top-stop Test suit, wasn’t it?” Sexton stated “That’s what absolutely everyone desired, and that’s what everyone were given. That first 1/2, wow, it became simply cease-to-end stuff.”
Sexton did no longer spend long thinking that a ways ahead. Ireland play Italy in a fortnight’s time. “We knew how massive this sport became in terms of the championship, however it’s no longer well worth whatever if we allow it slip within the subsequent recreation,” he said. “It’s been clean from the start what we want to attain. We gained a triple crown final yr and we stated we want to get better this 12 months, properly, to get higher is to win the championship and a grand slam. How you do this is via concentrating on the subsequent two weeks.”Ever the perfectionist, he already had clean thoughts about wherein Ireland want to enhance. “Straight away, we want to observe the chances we created. At half-time we spoke approximately how we only had a 50% achievement price on the possibilities we had whilst we were close to their line. We were held up multiple times, and we had possibilities to get the ball into space in advance on a couple of events too.
“So there’s lots to work on. There continually is. You in no way walk faraway from a recreation thinking ‘that become ideal’.” Andy Farrell agreed that his group “ought to have come away with some extra points”.
As for France, they had been left questioning whether Ireland had five extra than they should have had. James Lowe’s toes have been so close to touch while he scored their 2d try to French TV soon determined an attitude the refereeing group appear to have neglected, which counseled that it have to have been disallowed.“What can I say?” stated the head coach, Fabien Galthié. “In the moment we could see that his foot turned into in touch. But we need to be truthful, there was a linesman 3 metres from the action. There were pics, however they simplest got here out while the trial became over.”
Galthié felt Ireland “need to have had 5 factors less in the end” but he did no longer blame the loss on them. He stated his team exposed themselves through seeking to play an excessive amount of rugby of their own half and spent a lot power doing it that they ran out of steam inside the second 1/2.
He become traditionally philosophical about it all. “We got here here to win. It’s a defeat. It’s proper that it’s been two years since we misplaced a game, we have been on a chain of 14 victories, and the series is over,” he stated. “So we must also learn to stay with defeat. We don’t like her on this crew, she isn’t always a pal, but we are able to need to spend the night together with her.”