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Johnny Sexton kicks Ireland to top of Six Nations with victory over France

Johnny Sexton, Ireland v France Six Nations
Jonathan Sexton, who was in the thick of the action for Ireland, kicks a penalty during his side’s 19-9 victory against France in the Six Nations in Dublin. Photograph: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

The Ireland head coach, Joe Schmidt, finally indulged in mind games this week. He did not emulate Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland by trying to get inside the head of his opponents but rather on one of his own players, and the most celebrated, Jonathan Sexton. The outside-half, who had missed the opening two rounds through injury, was told before the team announcement he could not consider himself to be an automatic choice and his response was systematically to dismantle a France side that again showed its potential.

France dominated the opening quarter and their 6-0 lead should have been more. The centre Rémi Lamerat was denied a try on review for the second match running after Yoann Huget’s loss of possession after he had caught Camille Lopez’s cross-kick that was ruled to have gone forward. It was again a marginal call but after that Sexton took over, showing he is not an automatic by going through the gears manually.

The Lions’ coach, Warren Gatland, may have been at Murrayfield but he will have felt the rub of Sexton’s polish. The scrum-half Conor Murray, scorer of the match’s only try, was named man of the match but Sexton was the player who influenced its course, and not just because his loop round Rob Kearney and precise kick to the line created the position from which his half-back colleague scored.

Whereas France were at their most dangerous on the counter, when space appeared naturally, Sexton created it from set pieces and in broken play, varying his alignment and angles of attack. He used slow ball to bring in his big ball carriers or take on the defence himself but then distributed quick possession. France’s defence had to hold its line rather than fan out because of the running threat Sexton posed which gave Garry Ringrose space to get on the outside.

It was a tribute to France’s scrambling defence that they restricted Ireland to one try. The home side looked to keep the ball in hand in the opening half, three times turning down kickable penalties. They scored their try from a scrum they had opted for after being awarded a penalty, but as the darkness and light rain fell during the interval, Sexton tightened up the game, unsettling the France full-back with high kicks and converting two penalties in the third quarter together with a drop goal from 35 metres to take a tight game away from the visitors.

Ireland had by then got on top at forward, establishing supremacy up front and at the breakdown where their trio of CJ Stander, Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip did what England and Scotland could not in shackling the No8, Louis Picamoles. France struggled to generate quick ball and Murray found the space to the line after 29 minutes when Ireland prevented the flanker Bernard le Roux from getting up off the floor to tackle him.

Ireland had a cohesiveness France lacked, not surprisingly as only two of Guy Novès’s side started the victory over Schmidt’s side last year. What Les Bleus did show was a willingness to run – the way the scrum-half Baptiste Serin sidestepped Rob Kearney and left the full-back looking for a hole to jump into was reminiscent of Gerald Davies – and a relish for passing in contact. Their problem, again, was a lack of discipline that cost them position and possession but in terms of attitude and conviction there has been a French Revolution since the last World Cup.

With a Sexton they would have profited more from their strong start. They showed their combative intent by emblazoning the front of their jerseys with France2023, a reference to the World Cup hosting battle they are waging with Ireland. Lamerat’s ruled-out try proved a turning point: it stirred Ireland and Sexton took over for the next 45 minutes.

Murray’s try came from a scrum after Robbie Henshaw had been held up and the scrum-half was denied two more in the final 10 minutes of the opening half. France have in previous matches targeted Sexton, but the high-tackle directive forced them to go low on the occasions they did get near him: they struggled to adapt to the way he moved off the ball, once performing a double loop with his outside backs, and for someone who had hardly played in the previous two months, there was no evidence of rust.

Murray’s try came after Sexton’s kick had nearly resulted in a try for Keith Earls, Noa Nakaitaci reaching the ball just before the wing after another Huget fumble. Later an interchange of passes between Murray and Simon Zebo sparked an 18-phase move that looked like resulting in a second try until Jack McGrath knocked on.

Sexton was replaced by Paddy Jackson after 68 minutes. His selection had not received universal acclaim because of concerns about his fitness and Jackson’s form in his absence but he received a standing ovation having steered his side home and kept them in contention for the title. Lopez looked to have secured a bonus point for France with his third penalty but there was still time for Les Bleus to infringe at another breakdown and Jackson bolted the door Sexton had closed.