As Johnny Sexton celebrated on the pitch following Saturday's Grand Slam-clinching win against England, one eagled-eyed spectator homed in on the Ireland out-half with his camera.
Sexton looked bemused as he stared down at the medalless ribbon around his neck. At some point during the celebrations, his had gone missing.
Speaking on Independent.ie's Left Wing podcast, Sexton explained what had happened to the medal. He was not the only one searching for his at the time, Jordi Murphy's had also been lost.
"Myself and Jordi Murphy, we were walking around the pitch and I said to him, 'Mate, you lost your medal' and he goes, 'I think you have too,'" said Sexton.
One medal was recovered. Unsure of who was the owner, Murphy - perhaps thinking of Sexton's drop goal heroics in Paris - said that his teammate could have it.
We looked down and there was one medal on the ground. We couldn't figure out whose it was. He gave that one to me.
I'm not sure if he found his one. If he hasn't then I'm sure Ger Carmody will... we'll get a replacement I'm sure. I don't know if it was yanked off one of us while we were in the crowd with our families or whatever.
Someone sent me the video of myself looking for it. It was quite funny.
Murphy was not the only one to leave Twickenham without a medal on Saturday. Peter O'Mahony did so too. Though, his ended up in the possession of a worthy recipient: Ireland superfan Jennifer Malone.
This is brilliant - has anyone seen Johnny Sexton’s medal?
Conrad Holmes pic.twitter.com/xm3o9PaDBG
— Rugby Lives (@RugbyLives) March 18, 2018
Picture credit: Sportsfile
