Johnny Sexton admitted it has been the time of his life after Ireland bowed out of the rugby world cup.
New Zealand broke Irish hearts on Saturday night with a 28-24 quarter-final victory in Stade de France.
The all blacks held all off a late 37 phase Irish attack to claim victory a semi-final meeting with Argentina.
It was heartbreak for the Irish team, particularly captain Johnny Sexton who played his final game of rugby.
“The last six weeks have been incredible, the support, the way we’ve played. It’s been a dream come true and that includes today.
“The last couple of years, in a green jersey anyway, have been the most enjoyable of my career” Sexton declared”.
“It’s an incredible place to be and that’s what I’ll miss. But grateful as well, sitting here at 38, I’ve had a few ups and downs.
“I’ll probably reflect on it a bit more in the next couple of weeks, spend time with my family.”
Ireland trailed 18-17 at half-time, through tries from Fainga’anuku and Ardie Savea.
“They didn’t have to work hard for their tries” Sexton declared. “We were sucker-punched a couple of times, but they are a quality team”.
“We had to work harder for our tries and the way we fought back was a tribute to our character.”
Ireland never gave in
The Irish never gave in, a late try would have seen victory, but New Zealand, held off a 37 phase Irish attack for victory.
“I thought we had them a couple of times” Sexton explained. “To concede the turnover when we were so close to the line was gutting. They scramble so hard for each other”.
“To go through that many phases shows what this group is made of, but it’s gutting we couldn’t finish it off. We left it all out there.”
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤.
Ireland play through 37 phases searching for a match-winning try but concede a penalty with the clock in the red.
Eight quarter-finals. Eight defeats.#IREvNZL | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/nki8HgWXRK
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) October 14, 2023
While Ireland bow out and Sexton retires, Sexton has tipped New Zealand on making another World Cup final.
"The All Blacks judge themselves on winning World Cups, don't they? So time will tell how good this team is”.
"Time will tell but they've got some outstanding players, they're well coached. Obviously, they've improved a lot since Joe (Schmidt, assistant coach) and (Jason) Ryan has gone in as forwards coach.
"They are clearly on the up, they've got Argentina in the semis, so probably likely [be] in the final and then anything can happen. It will be gutting watching it."
