Advertisement
The Irish management can breathe a sigh of relief. Dan Sheridan/INPHO
unscathed

Johnny Sexton played an hour this evening as Racing Metro drew with Clermont

The out-half scored eight points before being withdrawn in the second-half.

JOHNNY SEXTON KICKED eight points as Racing Metro drew 13-13 with Top 14 leaders Clermont Auvergne on Saturday evening at the Stade Yves du Manoir.

With a potential Six Nations championship decider against England just a week away, Joe Schmidt would have been watching with bated breath as Sexton put himself in the firing line once more in a bid to build-up his match fitness.

The out-half suffered a nasty cut to his left eye during last week’s narrow win over France but Schmidt was powerless to stop Sexton from lining out in Paris this evening as a late Noa Nakaitaci try rescued a draw for the visitors.

The former Leinster 10 played with a bandage around his head to protect his eye and stitches.

Sexton was heavily involved as he kicked two penalties before setting up Marc Andreu to touch down shortly after the restart.

He was replaced after 66 minutes by Johan Goosen. Sexton will now fly home to begin preparations for the visit of the near neighbours when the squad reconvenes in Carton House on Tuesday.

The result means Clermont remain top of the pile with Racing six points behind in fourth.

‘When we try to play as individuals we are Joe Average,’ says Connacht boss Pat Lam

‘We’re going to have to improve an awful lot’ says Leinster’s Luke Fitzgerald

Your Voice
Readers Comments
13
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.