Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THERE’S LIFE IN THIS TEAM YET
JOHNNY SEXTON insists he’s not giving up on the Six Nations title race despite Ireland’s opening day defeat.
France, Scotland and Wales lead the way, with the French on five points to their Celtic rivals’ four.
“It’s all about next week now,” said Ireland skipper Sexton. “That bonus point could be crucial towards the end we could be top of the table next week if we get a big result at home.
“We know we’re playing the form team in Europe, the best team in Europe and we’re going to have to come together and fix the wrongs – and I fully back this group to do it.”
Flanker Josh van der Flier agreed about the need to get a win on the board next Sunday ahead of a week’s break, then a trip to Rome for Ireland.
“France looked very dangerous, they’re in great form,” he said. “They’re up there with the best teams in the world. But we need a win and we’ll be looking to put in a big performance against an incredible team. It’ll be tough but we’ll take the learnings.
“There were a lot of positives, especially how hard we worked. If we add a bit of accuracy then we’ll be in a good place to meet the French.”
And, watching with interest from France’s Marcoussis base, Les Bleus’ brilliant scrum-half Anton
Dupont pointed to Ireland’s ability to stay in the game despite being down to 14 men as an indication of the threat they will pose.
“After the red card we thought the Welsh would walk all over them but the Irish showed their resources, their values,” Dupont told French TV.
“They put an incredible amount of energy in, enough to think that they had the extra man. It shows the wealth this team have. We’ll prepare seriously all this week.”