IRELAND’S CAR A TOP PERFORMER

IRELAND may not win the Six Nations this season after their first-round battering by England – but their grinding bounceback win in Edinburgh showed there may be life after Johnny Sexton.

In creating the winning try for Keith Earls after Sexton had been hammered out early on, his replacement Joey Carbery (above) showed he has the temperament to fill the boots of the World Player of the Year.

Sexton turns 34 this summer and is increasingly injury-prone. In Carbery, who moved to Munster in the summer to escape the great man’s shadow at Leinster, Ireland are hoping they have their next No.10.

Carbery, 23, said: “It’s not great seeing Johnny go down, but on a personal level it was great to get out there and get the experience.

“You can’t do that in training, you can’t get that sort of pressure and Murrayfield is a tough place to come to get a result. It was a pretty tough battle.

“I did a few good things, a few bad things and I suppose I’ll take that and move on.”