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'The performance of a perfectionist' - Sexton earning praise in France

We’ve scanned the pages of L’Équipe, Midi Olympique and Rugbyrama to find out what the French are saying about Jonny.

JONNY SEXTON HELPED Racing Métro to a surprise 21-16 win over Toulouse in the barrages phase of the Top 14 on Friday night, thereby qualifying the club for a semi-final against Toulon on Friday.

The Ireland out-half kicked seven from seven off the tee and directed Racing’s largely risk-free game plan superbly. The 28-year-old’s defence was typically effective too, meaning his was a complete performance.

Here’s what some of the French media have been saying in the days since.

Midi Olympique

RacingJonny Midi Olympique Midi Olympique

Sexton’s performance is the subject of a standalone article in Midi Olympique‘s two-page review of Racing’s win in Toulouse. A headline of ‘The performance of a perfectionist’ sets the tone for Jérôme Prévôt’s piece.

The Irishman “shone like a skilled craftsman,” says Prévôt, before reminding the reader that Sexton had been involved in a training ground “dispute” with South African lock Juandre Kruger during the build-up to Friday’s game.

“Yes, he can be harsh,” explains Racing coach Laurent Labit. “He is demanding of himself and demanding of others. He sometimes gets annoyed with his teammates.”

“We saw last weekend in Montpellier [as Racing lost 44-10] where he spent the whole match annoyed on the pitch. In doing that, he was not going in the right direction, in my opinion. We have spoken to him in the last few days.”

Prévôt goes on to make the comparison between Sexton and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG, with both players having been “THE marquee signing” for their clubs.

The article admits that at Leinster, Sexton was just one of the “brilliant soldiers alongside O’Driscoll, Heaslip, D’Arcy,” while in Paris the out-half is “like the messiah on whose back each collective failure falls.”

Labit continues: “When we get to key moments in matches, he must know to be positive. He needs to understand how to encourage the others. Today [Friday], he showed the way. He was able to be positive.”

The article finishes with Prévôt pointing out his belief that Sexton “has justified his arrival in the Île-de-France [the region in which Paris sits] for a golden price. The rest, eventually, will be a bonus and the noise about an anticipated return home will be swept away.”

L’Équipe

Sexto L'Équipe L'Équipe

L’Équipe‘s two-page coverage of the game includes an article on Sexton, who was “impassable and always alert, resistant without flinching at the [attacking] assaults of Toulouse, notably Florian Fritz and Luke McAlister.”

Journalist Dominique Issartel reveals the words of Laurent Labit, the Racing Métro coach, who says, “This week, we told our ‘stars’: ‘Against Toulouse, we will see if we recruited great players.’”

The result was that Sexton provided an excellent performance, with Issartel suggesting that “in moments of tension, he gave his teammates oxygen… with his impeccable tactical kicks.”

The piece goes on to mention the influence of Ronan O’Gara on Sexton’s place-kicking display, with the skills/defence coach being “as much a perfectionist as his player.”

Issartel’s article finishes by revealing that when Racing returned to their hotel following the win over Toulouse, Sexton was the first to burst into song. O’Gara is the man responsible for the new-found tradition at the Parisian club.

“Ronan O’Gara has an obsession,” explains wing Marc Andreu. “His thing is that we sing after the matches. When we’re on the bus and we sing a bad song, he tells the driver to stop and threatens to leave us on the side of the road!”

Sexton’s song of choice? U2′s ‘With or Without You,’ which Issartel saw as particularly apt.

 Rugbyrama

JSex Rugbyrama Rugbyrama

The French rugby website proclaims Sexton as a “cold-blooded kicker,” who was “definitely the man of the match” on Friday evening. The 28-year-old “justified his transfer to Racing by excelling in the task that we awaited the most: effectiveness with the boot,” writes Clément Mazella.

Sexton was “simply imperial” in scoring all of his side’s points with a success rate of 100% off the tee.

“The great players always turn up for the big matches and Jonathan demonstrated that he’s in that category,” says Racing centre Henry Chavancy. “He rewarded the work of our forwards and defence, and without him it would have been a lot more complicated.”

Racing Métro play Toulon in the Top 14 semi-finals on Friday night at Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille. Kick-off is at 19.45 Irish time.

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