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Schmidt pays respect to 'freakishly good' Frenchman
By Alex Fisher
Ireland cannot rely on last-gasp moments of quality from Jonathan Sexton if they are to build on their opening Six Nations win over France, says Joe Schmidt.
With seconds remaining at the Stade de France Ireland found themselves behind for the first time after Anthony Belleau converted Teddy Thomas' superb try.
But the visitors snatched a 15-13 victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to a moment of brilliance from Sexton, the fly-half nailing a 40-yard drop goal with the last kick of the game.
Despite the moment bringing great joy to the players, staff and fans alike, head coach Schmidt knows they must see off games early when they enjoy such domination.
"We can't leave matches in the balance," he said. "We must make the most of advantages and get the points we need.
"One freakish event, and one freakishly good player in Thomas and his try can undo all that hard work.
"That is something we're disappointed with and we've got to do something to make sure that doesn't happen next week, and for the following weeks of the championship."
Ireland welcome Italy to Dublin next weekend, before hosting Wales and Scotland ahead of their final match away to England.
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Even with absences we still had the cattle to make the playoffs. As it was, we nearly stumbled our way into the top 8. Which shows just how easy it was to get there. And still we failed. As for Razor, there are many instances of him patching up the Crusaders roster. Numerous. Several players Id never heard of. Also, using AB legend John Afoa was a classic.
But, some of the games we were losing were from schoolboy errors, or downright confusion. Either the players were really dumb (they weren’t) or they were poorly coached. Given the repetitive nature of errors, brain fades, poor decision making, & loose structures, this all lands with the coaching group.
With only six playoff spots now in SR, & Aussie franchises now consolidated to four, 2025 looks like a tight one. We'll have to tough it out under Penney & hope for the best.
Go to commentsAgree we need a 10, 12, 13 refresh. ASAP. Well, next season now lol. Reiko should be put back on the wing. He'll be an absolute menace there. Imagine 11 Reiko 14 Clarke 15 Jordan as the backfield unit.
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