Ireland 19-9 France: Johnny Sexton makes winning return

Match Stats

Ireland tries: Murray (30)
Conversions: Sexton (30)
Penalties: Sexton (45, 54) Jackson (76)
Drop goals: Sexton (50)

France penalties:  Lopez (12, 19, 74) 

Match Report

Johnny Sexton shrugged off France's latest bully-boy tactics to pilot Ireland's stubborn 19-9 RBS 6 Nations victory in Dublin.

Sexton copped a heavy, late hit from former Racing 92 team-mate Eddy Ben Arous, but shook off any damage to end the day with an 11-point haul in Ireland's fine triumph.

Conor Murray sneaked home for the game's sole try to keep Ireland's Six Nations title hopes alive, with Paddy Jackson also posting a late penalty.

Sexton has been knocked unconscious, suffered a nasty black eye and been put on his backside from countless late hits in a string of gritty clashes with France in the last four years.

His old Racing team-mate Ben Arous had even vowed to "go after" Sexton "200 per cent" at the World Cup in 2015, only for Ireland to prevail 24-9.

British and Irish Lions star Sexton suffered two questionable late tackles in this latest skirmish with Les Bleus, but emerged unscathed and victorious in his first match in a month after calf trouble.

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The 31-year-old was replaced by Jackson in the final quarter, but for once against the French his withdrawal was not enforced.

Sexton's immediate return to form after a niggling calf injury will leave Lions boss Warren Gatland hoping Ireland's linchpin can reignite his top form ahead of the summer's tour to New Zealand.

Ireland's sole concern from another bruising encounter remained a potential groin injury to full-back Rob Kearney.

Ireland rode their luck to sneak a 7-6 lead into the break, with only a marginal knock-on costing France a fine score.

Baptiste Serin's searing break had already failed to yield a try, with the scrum-half catching Jack McGrath napping round a ruck, when Remi Lamerat had a score chalked off for a forward pass.

The visitors had to settle for two Lopez penalties at the interval then, as Gael Fickou's minor knock-on was well spotted by the officials.

Lopez's smart kick-pass caught Ireland cold, with Yoann Huget stepping in off his wing to feed Fickou, who could not quite complete the pass to his centre partner Lamerat without the critical error.

Ireland could breathe easy at the mid point of the half then, but were still frustrated with poor ball retention and sloppy restart work.

The hosts then botched two fine attacking platforms before forcing the breakthrough that proved enough for the slender half-time advantage.

Henshaw's brave, tight line from a five-metre scrum set the platform, and Murray sniped home in style.

Ireland were left to bemoan wasting another gilt-edged opportunity though, winning four penalties in France's 22 only for the visitors to then steal possession all too easily at a maul.

Ireland burst out of the blocks after the break, pouncing on Scott Spedding's high ball fumble.

Though McGrath was censured for running into his own man trying to drive round a ruck, the hosts quickly had a penalty when Serin was pinged for blocking Murray at the scrum.

Sexton slotted the penalty with ease to push Ireland into a four-point lead.

In driving rain Ireland then turned the screw, with Sexton dropping a fine goal thanks to the safety net of a penalty advantage.

Replacement lock Julien Le Devedec then put in the first questionable hit on Sexton as the French started to clutch at straws. Spedding immediately grabbed at thin air again, fumbling Sexton's latest Garryowen.

Ireland demolished France at the scrum, and Sexton slotted his second penalty, to push Schmidt's men into a 16-6 lead.

Ben Arous then flattened Sexton with a late hit, but the Ireland playmaker had already launched a fluent attack by sending Simon Zebo down the left flank.

Ireland ploughed through 18 phases, most with Sexton receiving treatment, before Spedding raced clear only for Zebo to recover his ambitious chip.

The hosts clung on through the lung-busting passage, ultimately snuffing out the danger when Kevin Gourdon was penalised at a ruck.

France mixed stealth and style to race the length once more, only for replacement Uini Atonio to concede a cheap penalty for a neck roll on Sean O'Brien.

Lopez slotted his third penalty of the day with six minutes to play, only for Jackson to hit back from the tee and restore Ireland's 10-point cushion.

Match Reaction

Joe Schmidt on whether Ireland's Six Nations destiny is now back in their own hands: "Yes I think it is and I think one of the key things is that England are going to keep going full speed. I think Scotland have proven they are very difficult to get past.

"Losing Greig Laidlaw is a big blow for them, but they will go fully armed to Twickenham. This championship is super, it's intense, we're on the edge of our seat as coaches."

On a potential final-day showdown with England: "We probably haven't done the maths because we've tried to stay focused on the immediate challenge. Probably because of the bonus points we gained against Scotland and Italy, and England haven't had a bonus point yet, that has helped.

"But England have had two super-tough games. And we've got Wales away to come. We're not thinking about anything back here at the end of the championship yet. But it will appeal a lot less to us if it's not for the championship."

On Johnny Sexton's return: "In a measured way I thought he was really, really positive for us. He varied the game, we varied it up a bit in the second half. We had to try to get them chasing things rather than chasing us.

"I thought he did it superbly, a couple of great kicks in behind. That allowed us to keep the pressure on. He never shirks his defensive responsibilities anyway, Johnny.

"We probably aimed to give him 50 to 55 (minutes), but with the nature of the game, and him having the wind knocked out of him at one point where he had a two-minute rest, we gave him a bit longer. It's certainly not the first time Johnny's come straight back like that. He prepares himself incredibly well, he wants to be his best all the time."

Conor Murray on Ireland's title hopes: "With the way the weather was, it was always going to be difficult and I think we stuck in the fight. To beat France 19-9 at home is great and to have missed a few opportunities is a little bit frustrating.

"A win on the cards and we're still in the hunt for this championship. A win and nothing else would do this week and we've managed to do that. And we've a week off to rest up and look at Wales, so we're still in the fight."

France boss Guy Noves on his side's progress: "I don't have the impression we are progressing but we are building something that is for sure. This match will gives us clues as to how to build further in the future.

"We will analyse all the situations where we had the ball and weren't able to make it count. It is a pity the first occasion we did break through their defence ended up with the try being disallowed because of a minuscule knock-on by Gael Fickou.

"I think we have stagnated but we have not taken a step back. But we are finding out by playing the high quality sides like Ireland how far we have to go."