Five of the best: Centurion Johnny Sexton’s best Ireland games in the eyes of his peers

There's something about centuries, in any sport. Irish rugby is no different. Although it's become more commonplace, it's still an elite club, and today Johnny Sexton joins a mere half a dozen other Irish players to reach this momentous milestone.

Out in front, on 133 caps, is Brian O’Driscoll, who simply puts it thus: “Johnny is a 100-cap player. You don’t get poor 100-cap players and it just feels that he is someone who warrants being in that small enough club .”

“There are other guys who don’t get to 100 caps who feel like 100-cap players but it would be a travesty if he didn’t get 100 caps, someone who has just made this enormous difference to the national team over the last 10 years.”

Sifting through Sexton’s previous 99 tests for Ireland, it’s hard to pick five apart from the rest, albeit ‘le drop’ is a no-brainer.

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"What I love about that list is that three are away from home," says Rob Kearney, who admits his biggest regret is falling two short of 100 Test caps.

“It’s not easy in front of your own fans but when you produce big performances away from home you really get to see the mark of a man and of a player.”

“Then there are New Zealand and South Africa, the two biggest powerhouses in world rugby in history, and Australia. You look at those five games and they are the very pinnacle of test rugby.”

Despite such consistently high standards, three are also from 2018, but then again, as Kearney notes: “It was by far the greatest year in Irish rugby history, and it’s something that may never be done again.”

It was also the year Sexton was crowned World Player of the Year.

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Ireland 15 South Africa 10

Croke Park

Sexton had made his debut a week before against Fiji at the RDS, but as he admits himself this was his first real taste of test rugby. Ireland were Grand Slam champions. The Springboks were World Cup and Tri Nations champions, had just beaten the Lions in a monumental series and 11 of the Irish ‘23’ had toured. Sexton was also muscling in on Ronan O’Gara’s territory.

Landing his first penalty from 50 metres before a try by pantomime villain Schalk Burger and a Morne Steyn drop goal had put the ‘Boks 10-3 in front, Sexton kicked five from seven. He also played the full 80.

Brian O'Driscoll: You've got to remember as well, Rog had knocked over the winning drop goal eight months earlier in a Grand Slam-winning tournament. Then, all of a sudden, such was his meteoric rise that Johnny not only deserved a start in a game against Fiji but he warranted the start against a great South African team, the world champions and conquerors of the Lions.

So it must have been a big moment in his head when he was selected and at that point it wasn’t a case of him being better than Rog, Declan [Kidney] was trying things out. But there’s no doubt that he had earned the right to be playing on the back of his performances in the previous six months in particular.

He was very solid. He’s the best person to be actually talking about it and scrutinising every game because he’s encyclopedic in his knowledge. I remember it being very foggy, unsurprisingly very physical, very attritional and going down to the wire. There wasn’t a huge amount of running rugby.

Selfishly you remember some of your own moments rather than someone else’s. I remember making a tackle at the end and we got a turnover from it. But certainly Sexto didn’t seem like a one-cap calibre player at that stage. It seemed as though he had a wealth of experience under his belt the way he controlled things that day. And he was very, very good from the tee.

The ‘Boks, seemingly none the wiser, renewed their aerial assault of the Lions tour on Kearney, who was man-of-the-match.

Rob Kearney: He made his debut the week before of course against Fiji at the RDS but this game was Johnny's first proper Test against a big, big team. He played well the week before but, without disrespecting the opposition, you never really judge someone until they come up against a big team.

There was a huge amount of expectation on Johnny that week. There was all the chat about Johnny versus Ronan. In your second cap, in the driving seat at number 10, to pass your first big test with such flying colours is a pretty impressive achievement.

It was unbelievably foggy, virtually impossible to see the ball. It’s very difficult for your fullback, but it’s also very difficult for your halfbacks, who are trying to see the space in the backfield while also concentrating on actually catching the ball because you do have to put in extra effort on the simple catch-pass execution.

We bombarded their line a few times but they were a hard team to break down, which further shows you the importance of your goalkickers. A lot of the time we judge a 10 on their goalkicking, regardless of how they play. If they land two or three from six we’re very quick to discount them. To be able to nail some of those clutch kicks, in his first big game, was a great sign of mental resilience for a relatively young fella.

Declan left him on for the full 80 minutes too. If you’re a coach and you’ve given a young guy his chance, you want to be seen to back him, especially if they’re going well.

Saturday, March 15th, 2014

France 20 Ireland 22

Stade de France

Super Saturday and three teams tied on six points, with Ireland (+81) leading England (+32) and France (+3) on points difference. England’s 52-11 win in Rome meant that come the 6pm kick-off in Stade de France a win of any hue would see Ireland lift the title for the first time since 2009 and their 12th overall.

Although now effectively out of France’s reach, Ireland had only won once in Paris in 42 years, courtesy of O’Driscoll’s hat-trick in 2000. This was his 133rd and last Test for Ireland. France threw everything at Ireland and led at half-time, before Sexton’s second try in a 17-point haul put Ireland back in front. Clinging on to a 22-20 lead, France’s Damien Chouly crossed in the corner in the 79th minute but on review Pascal Papé’s pass had travelled forward. It still needed one more choke tackle by Iain Henderson to defy one last French surge and seal what was only a second title since 1985.

O'Driscoll: We scored some really great tries. There was the one that he [Sexton] got, Trims [Andrew Trimble] went through off a power play and then Johnny scored his second. He had the knack, and still has it, of being in the right place at the right time.

I made a break and in other years I might have scored myself. I got tackled short of the line, he runs a great line and he’s under the sticks. He can take a game by the neck, like he did against Northampton. He’s always been a guy for the big moment.

I knew it was my last game and for him to play such a pivotal role I have a huge amount to be thankful for. If Johnny doesn’t turn up in those clutch moments we don’t win the title.

Kearney: Johnny made a lot of ball carries that day. He wasn't afraid of taking the ball to the line. He kicked one unbelievable restart where Paulie [O'Connell] won the ball back and then he was at first receiver to nudge the ball into the corner. We were 6-0 down and little things like that turn the shape of a game.

For his second try you see forwards take those tight lines and get absolutely smoked by the opposition. So there’s an element of bravery in that, but also seeing the space early, something he’s been very good at throughout the years. I’d always maintain that Johnny just sees things that fraction of a second earlier than anyone else.

The French at home are a completely different beast. They put everything into that game. Ireland rarely play in finals but when a title is on the line it’s the closest thing to a final.

Joe Schmidt: He was super that day. The first try I think he stepped inside [Mathieu] Bastareaud to punch through close to the ruck but the second try, Trimby got into space, Drico went up the right-hand side and got tackled short. Once upon a time Drico might have made it but he was hanging in that day. He'd had a calf issue during the week. We weren't sure he was going to play and it was his last game, and he got the fairy-tale finish that he deserved as well.

But Johnny’s flat line onto the ball off that ruck was a peach and he ran around to make sure he made the conversion a little bit easier for himself. And he defended so strongly, and I think that’s one of the things that people don’t realise. People criticise his upright tackling but his defence in that game was really important as well.

Saturday, February 3rd, 2018

France 13 Ireland 15

Stade de France

This time it was the opening weekend of the Six Nations. A settled Irish side were on a run of seven straight wins, a remodelled France under a new coaching ticket had lost six on the spin. But with only two wins in Paris since 1972, uneasy lies the mantle of favouritism.

There had also been trying off-field distractions, such as Rory Best and Iain Henderson attending the Belfast rape trial that week.

On a chilly, wet evening, Teddy Thomas’s 74th-minute converted try put France 13-12 ahead and with the clock entering the 78th minute, Anthony Belleau missed a kickable penalty to put them two scores ahead. Behind the goalposts, Sexton was plotting the Houdini-like escape to victory. He didn’t waste any time with the drop out, which was pinpoint for Henderson to reclaim the ball.

Cue the most famous 41-phase, five minute 15 seconds drive in Irish rugby history. And Johnny’s ‘Rog moment’. After that, the Grand Slam felt like destiny.

Kearney: "For me this will always be his biggest moment in an Irish jersey. As rugby players we all crave that day when you're the hero in a big match for your country, when you score the try or kick the goal or make the tackles that wins the match, and it actually very rarely happens in sport.

I think I touched the ball twice and you're scared sh*tless touching the ball because you don't want to make a mistake. The ball was greasy too, and I can't tell you the difference that makes. If you take 41 phases that means your scrumhalf has to touch the ball at least 35 of the phases. So there was a huge amount of pressure on Conor Murray and that last pass to Johnny wasn't short. It needed to be ripped.

The range [45 metres] was probably just on his cusp. Johnny was down with cramp a few minutes before that. I remember thinking ‘our only chance here is a drop goal and our 10 is down stretching on the field. We haven’t got a sniff here!’ But he has a little stretch, regathers himself and does that.

That, and Rog in 2009, they were by far the two most incredible moments in Irish rugby that I’ll ever remember.

Schmidt: Everyone focuses on the drop but the two kicks in the lead up to that super kick were a couple of entrées to that main meal. His drop-out '22' when we definitely had to get possession back to almost have a chance and Iain Henderson did a great job to catch it, but it's on the money, and then there was his crosskick to Keith Earls.

It’s funny, I talked to Johnny after the game and Keith was in better space earlier but we were keeping momentum a little bit with carries and you don’t want to risk giving the ball up because you know you’re not going to get it back. But when we started getting knocked back, because the French are big and physical, Johnny went to it. Earlsy was superb, leapt up and beat Vakatawa because he was too far away to risk contesting and giving away a penalty. So he let Earlsy have it because it was safer for him to make the tackle, but it got us going forward again.

I still remember how neat the French fans were when we were coming down the stairs. They were disappointed but they were ecstatic about the play and what had happened. ‘Magnfique’. ‘C’est enorme’. It was representative of what Johnny had achieved but also the sporting values that you really hope continue in the game.

Saturday, June 23rd, 2018

Australia 16 Ireland 20

Sydney Football Stadium

After losing the first test in Brisbane, when Sexton started on the bench, Ireland ended a run of 11 straight losses Down Under dating back almost three decades when levelling the series in Melbourne. Sexton landed six from six for a 16-point haul in the 26-21 win to set up a decider and a possible first series win in Australia since 1979.

Half an hour into the game Peter O’Mahony went off injured, also meaning that Sexton took over the captaincy for the last 50 minutes, leading to his infamous comment to referee Pascal Gaüzère: ‘I know you hate me but you have to talk to me’.

Schmidt: Joey [Carbery] started the first test because a lot of the boys had been heavily involved in games leading up to us leaving for that tour and we brought on the heavyweights leading 9-8: Johnny, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson – a number of the big-hitters for us. We had this luxury of bringing the guys on with 20 or 30 to go, and we lost 18-9.

Johnny was incensed by that and he has a depth of determination that not many people have and he was super in Melbourne and he was superb in the Allianz in front of a record crowd and in a real test match. The Kurtley Beales, the Israel Folaus, the David Pococks, the Michael Hoopers – it wasn't an Aussie team that were on the down. They had a super team and that third test was the culmination of a fantastic series, and he was pivotal in us getting that win.

Johnny also took over the captaincy that day and never put a foot wrong or said a wrong word. I remember his management at the end when the Australians had claimed that Jacob [Stockdale] had deflected the ball and Johnny showed good leadership when talking to Pascal Gaüzère as the Wallabies claimed a touch that the TMO couldn’t find.

Kearney: Again, when you're one-all in a series, like Paris four years before, that third test is another 'final'. Pete went off injured after a restart when myself and Israel Folau collided in the air. This was Johnny's first time to captain the team. He landed his fifth penalty in the 78th minute to leave them needing a try and the penalty was in a tough position. We were up by a point which takes a little bit of pressure off the kicker but that kick meant they had to score a try.

They had us against the rack, but Johnny defended well on the outside at one stage when he gets Folau and holds him up to slow the ball down for a couple of seconds. That took a lot of strength and it also impacts the defensive line so everyone else can get organised and reset. That makes an enormous difference, and that’s in the 80th minute.

Even in the last play, with time up, Bernard Foley flung a pass over the touchline to [Dane] Haylett-Petty on the edge, who overran him just a fraction. But they claimed that Jacob got a hand to the ball when he came up and in off his wing, and the referee went to the TMO.

I was off injured and even Joe was down on the line, which would have been unusual for him. The referee called Johnny and Pocock in for a chat and once Johnny has clarification from the referee that there’s no evidence of Jacob touching the ball he turns and cheers to all the lads before the final whistle has even gone.

Saturday, November 17th, 2018

Ireland 16 New Zealand 9

Aviva Stadium

The unofficial 2018 ‘Nations League’ final. Champions of the north v champions of the south, number two v number one in the world. Ireland went into this game on a run of 16 wins out of 17, (New Zealand were on 21 wins out of 22) and still sore from the All Blacks’ abrasive revenge mission in Dublin a fortnight after Chicago two years previously.

For Sexton there was also the memory of Ireland letting slip a big lead at the Aviva in 2013, and missing a 73rd-minute penalty to restore a two-score lead.

Hence, while Chicago had been historic, beating the All Blacks on home soil for the first time in 17 attempts would be better still. The Aviva was indeed all a fever.

Kearney: I've always thought this was sweeter than winning in Chicago, for two reasons. First it's on home soil and I always felt with the Chicago game, because it's a neutral city and was a bit of a showcase game, the Cubs had won the World Series, and the All Blacks had been enjoying Chicago. I always felt they'd taken their eye of the ball for just a fraction. I also think when you do it a second time, it can't be a one-off.

This was a huge game because it was billed as the two best teams going head-to-head. In those games you can’t be missing kicks, and Johnny had the memory of 2013, but he nailed all his kicks.

Teams go after the opposition 10 because they’re perceived as being the weakest defenders and also teams probably felt that if you get Sexton off immediately Ireland are disadvantaged. Every time he takes the field he knows that the opposition are going to be targeting him.

In his tackling he led from the front. When your number 10 is doing that it gives the team a huge amount of confidence. There was a lot of ball in play that day but there was a huge amount of intensity to it.

Some of his tactical kicking was excellent too. He kicked some great crossfield kicks and contestable bombs which, as a chaser, they need to be within a three to five metre landing zone to have any sort of chance of winning it back and all of his kicks that day were bang on the money.

Schmidt: His goalkicking was massively important, especially because Jacob's [conversion] was relatively wide, and there were a couple of other wide kicks that day. That conversion allowed us to lead 16-6 at the time and you want breathing space when you're playing the ABs because they're a suffocating team to play against.

Johnny’s performance in 2018 buried the demons of five years previously. Johnny had played unbelievably well in the 2013 game but you can only really heal those scars by reopening the wound and getting it stitched.

That night he and Jacob made a tackle on Ben Smith to win us a five-metre lineout and he punched the air. It's almost as if we'd scored, although we lost the lineout. But Johnny's defence, his kicking and even his decision-making, were great.

It’s one thing for the execution of the play to be good enough to create the space, and Jacob’s kick for his try was superb, but Johnny was the one who called that play. He knew how he was going to map the boys around the field that night.

It wasn’t always what he did himself, it’s what he decided for us as well. Johnny was the shot caller. Nobody can get them right all the time, but he generally does.