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What was your highlight?
A) Steff Evan 'Superman' try
B) Peter Horne clever try
C) Teddy Thomas sensational finish
D) Johnny Sexton Drop Goal pic.twitter.com/T4rbNzB1R7
— NatWest 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 3, 2018
France 13 Ireland 15
For 70 minutes at the Stade de France the rugby was as bleak as the Paris weather, with
both sides working hard in defence but finding little inspiration in attack.
But with Ireland leading 12-6 lead the game exploded into life when French wing Teddy
Thomas scorched through the visitors defence to score a brilliant solo try.
There were still nine minutes to go but the tail of the French cockerel was up and their
supporters roared them on as the game ticked past the 80 minutes. Ireland had possession,
however, and showing ice-cool composure in a red-hot atmosphere, fly-half Jonathan
Sexton dropped a monster goal from 42 metres with the last kick of the match.
It was an astonishing coup de grace, a gut-wrenching one for the French, who are now
without a win in their last seven Test matches.
“It is hard to explain how you feel when you think the game has gone away, you have let it
slip and suddenly you have grabbed it back,” said Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who
described Sexton’s moment of magic as “inspirational”.
Nonetheless, Schmidt conceded it had been an otherwise stodgy display against a limited
French side. “We can’t leave matches in the balance,” he said. “You’ve got to make the
most of advantages and get the points you need. One freakish event, and one freakishly
good player in Thomas and his try can undo all that hard work.
“That’s something we’re disappointed with and we’ve got to do something to make sure that
doesn’t happen next week [against Italy].”
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