Ireland coach Joe Schmidt heaped praise on Johnny Sexton after the veteran fly-half’s incredible late drop goal earned a 15-13 Six Nations win over France on Saturday.
The hosts looked to have snatched victory themselves thanks to a dazzling try from wing Teddy Thomas eight minutes from time.
Joe Schmidt has heaped praise on his fly-half
France’s head coach Jacques Brunel
“I don’t know if it’s deserved, or if they deserved it. They (Ireland) had a lot of the ball.
“We had a chance to seal victory but unfortunately the penalty went past the post. I don’t know if it’s fair or not but it’s frustrating.”
Brunel is facing the prospect of changing his half-back pairing with both Jalibert and Dupont likely to be ruled out of next week’s trip to Scotland.
“It could be quite serious,” said Brunel. “Maybe for Dupont and Jalibert. We’ll wait for the medical tests but there’s a risk this defeat will cost us.”
Captain Guilhem Guirado admitted that coming so close to victory only to lose made it more galling.
Guilhem Guirado leads his team out against Ireland
“Discipline let us down today, but with the chances we had we managed to put them in danger,” he said.
“Despite everything, we managed to hang in there and show solidarity and a good team spirit.
“We weren’t far from having it in the bag so it’s even harder to swallow and accept that we lost the match.”