Schmidt says talisman Sexton will be ready for Samoa crunch

JOE SCHMIDT insists Johnny Sexton will be fine to face Samoa despite the fly-half icing his troublesome thigh after being withdrawn in yesterday’s win over Russia. Talisman Sexton, who missed the shock 19-12 loss to Japan, was replaced by Jack Carty for the second half of his side’s five-try win. But head coach Schmidt said Sexton (right) is ‘all good’ and will be ready for their final Pool A encounter in Fukuoka next Saturday, which the Irish just need to win to qualify for the quarter finals. Jordi Murphy lasted just 26 minutes before departing with a rib problem, having only arrived in Japan in midweek to replace injured Jack Conan. Now Schmidt will wait for an update on the Ulster star. ‘Jordi got squeezed in the ribs, so he may have popped a rib there,’ said Schmidt. ‘We’re just going to get him checked out.’ Rob Kearney raced in Ireland’s quickest-ever World Cup try after just 90 seconds after a typical Schmidt set play, with Peter O’Mahony, Rhys Ruddock, Andrew Conway and Garry Ringrose also crossing the line. The bonus-point win looked inevitable for the Irish but they made hard work of their ultimate goal. It took them until midway through the second half to secure that vital fifth point, with Conway sprinting under the posts. They now have nine days before facing Samoa, and will doubtless be keen to rest some tired bodies. Schmidt insisted he remains content with Ireland’s progress, however, with his side still able to top Pool A despite defeat to the tournament hosts. ‘I don’t think we lost our way against Russia, we just didn’t convert some chances,’ said the New Zealander. ‘There were more things that pleased me than disappointed me. We started well again, with two early tries. ‘Then we made a bit of hard work of it. One of the plans we had was to try to get a few scores early if we could. ‘The longer the game goes on here, the more moisture there is in the air, on the ground and on the ball. We knew it would get difficult as time went on. ‘And there was probably a little bit of consternation in that third quarter. Then to finish with the best try of the night at the end (was good). Just to get that 35-point differential and keep a clean sheet.’