Happily, the Six Nations is still on the side of the best shots, rather than the heaviest battalions. Beneath a louring French sky, it looked like the French had bludgeoned their way to another victory against Ireland. The French had muscle, and we the inhibiting muscle memory of so many past defeats in Paris.
But Ireland had one last bullet - the silver-plated genius of Johnny Sexton. His astounding, 41-metre drop goal at the end of 42 attacking phases seemed to hang in the sky for hours before eventually dropping over the bear to break French hearts.
That kick was the third of a trio which left Sexton's boot in the final minutes, all of them nearly perfect. Initially, the kick-off was perfectly measured to allow Ireland retain possession. Then, with Ireland going nowhere fast after a few phases, Sexton elected to change the point of attack: aiming a crossfield kick toward Keith Earls.
It was another outrageous kick, but we should not ignore the role played by Keith Earls, who sprung into the skies to catch it brilliantly. Joe Schmidt guessed that Earls got about three metres off the ground to pluck the ball from the sky. He ended towering over the six feet of Vakatawa.
That he did so with the clock red speaks to a kind of adamantine mental strength. Five minutes earlier, Earls fumbled a kick and knocked on, with France exploiting the stoppage to manipulate the HIA rules so as to have Maxime Machenaud back on the field to manage the close of the game.
In the end, Sexton ruled all their skulduggery moot, but it's important to acknowledge Earls' role in the kick.
Keith Earls’ take in the air from Johnny Sexton’s cross field was outstanding. Just when it looked like Ireland had run out of ideas, Sexton grabs it by the scruff. World class.
— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) February 3, 2018
Incredible last few minutes. What ever about that drop kick but what balls shown by @JohnnySexton to kick the crossfield to @KEITHEARLS87 to get into the French half!
— Johne Murphy (@MurphyJohne) February 3, 2018
Not sure if TV shown either but two things worth noting - 1) at a point during those 41-phases Sexton was stretching his leg out, seemingly hurt. 2) Keith Earls was calling for that cross-kick for around a week and a half. Supreme execution from Ireland's ten.
— Jonathan Bradley (@JBradleyBT) February 3, 2018