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Jonatah Sexton has been ruled out of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final with Argentina on Sunday after suffering a setback in his recovery from a groin strain.
The fly-half limped out of Ireland’s victory over France last weekend and looked to be a doubt for the last-eight contest in Cardiff, only to recover in time to retain his place in Joe Schmidt’s starting XV.
However, after taking part in training on Friday, Sexton is said to have “tightened up” and a further scan showed a minor adductor strain that will prevent him from facing the Pumas.
His Leinster team-mate Ian Madigan will deputise at outside-half in Sexton’s absence, while Ulster’s Paddy Jackson joins the replacements’ bench.
An Irish Rugby Football Union statement read: “Johnny Sexton has been ruled out of Ireland's Rugby World Cup Quarter Final clash with Argentina. Ian Madigan will start with Paddy Jackson on the bench.
Ireland 24 France 9 player ratingsShow all 30 1 /30Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings <b>France:</b> 15 Scott Spedding – 7 out of 10 Started very impressively as his first penalty attempt hit the upright before to successful long-range efforts. Very solid under the high ball.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 14 Noa Nakaitaci – 5 out of 10 France haven’t worked out a way to bring him into the game yet, and the wing was starved of ball as a result.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 13 Mathieau Bastareaud – 5 out of 10 Didn’t produce any of his barnstorming runs we know he’s capable of and was caught out in defence by Henshaw.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 12 Wesley Fofana – 6 out of 10 Tried to inject pace and physicality in equal measure, but the Irish defence were up to the task. A tad selfish as the ball rarely made it outside him.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 11 Brice Dulin – 6 out of 10 Helped his side out with two well-judged kicks, but limited ball saw him contribute little else.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 10 Frederic Michalak – 5 out of 10 At fault for the Kearney try as he couldn’t stop the full-back when tackled five metres out. Looked to have just picked up an injury while he was also nursing his head, and departed soon after.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 9 Sebastien Tilous-Borde – 6 out of 10 Struggled behind a pack going backwards although his box-kicking was a useful pressure-reliever.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 1 Eddy Ben Arous – 5 out of 10 Forced off for a Head Injury Assessment early in the second half, and lost the very first scrum once he returned which led to Kearney’s try.
Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 2 Guilhem Guirado – 6 out of 10 His throwing was actually quite accurate, but those pesky green jerseys kept appearing in front of his jumpers. Nearly broke free in the first-half, and copped a blow to the head from O’Mahony as a result.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 3 Rabah Slimani – 6 out of 10 France’s standout performer so far this tournament but he saw his chances to impress cut down. Coped well in the scrum in a back-and-forth tussle with Healy, and replaced by Nicholas Mas when the game was gone.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 4 Pascal Pepe – 6 out of 10 Did well to get up and continue from an early O’Brien cheap shot. He carried well, but another who struggled in the air.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 5 Yoann Maestri – 5 out of 10 Fairly anonymous throughout and struggled to run the lineout with Ireland’s unit disrupting French ball.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 6 Thierry Dusautoir – 6 out of 10 Excellent in the opening 20 minutes as Ireland struggled to cope with his breakdown work. He fronted up in defence all match, but his uncharacteristic knock-on summed up France’s day.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 7 Damien Chouly – 5 out of 10 Put in a big hit on O’Connell shortly before the Irish skipper departed, but he was played off the park by O’Brien and came off second best in the breakdown battle. Replaced by Bernard le Roux midway through the second half.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 8 Louis Picamoles – 6 out of 10 One of Les Blues most standout performers in the first half and his bone-shuddering tackle brought a premature end to Sexton’s night. But as the French pack lost their platform so did he, and he was anonymous come the end.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings <b>Ireland:</b> 15 Rob Kearney – 8 out of 10 Came up with the crucial try as he exposed Michalak’s weak defending. Solid at the back, and got his hands on the ball regularly as he came into the line.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 14 Tommy Bowe – 7 out of 10 Brilliant break in the first half should have put Earls away for a try and delicate hands nearly released Kearney on the right.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 13 Keith Earls – 6 out of 10 Guilty of dropping the final pass when Bowe had put him in for a try, and was probably Ireland’s most disappointing back, though that wasn’t disastrous given how those around him performed.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 12 Robbie Henshaw – 8 out of 10 His best performance by far since returning from injury. His break came from a beautiful side-step around Bastareaud and led to Kearney’s score, and he was always on the fly-halves shoulder when they needed help.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 11 Dave Kearney – 6 out of 10 Stuck out on his wing for the majority but put together two nice runs with little reward. Defensively he was very impressive, as he kept Nakaitaci extremely quiet for the duration.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 10 Jonathon Sexton – 6 out of 10 Forced off early after a huge tackle from Picamoles with what turned out to be a groin injury despite initial fears for his ribs. Managed two penalties before he departed.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 9 Conor Murray – 8 out of 10 Put under pressure early on but once his forwards gave him the time to work he flourished. Used his brain to touch the ball down at the base of the posts to score Ireland’s second try.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 1 Cian Healy – 7 out of 10 A rock in the scrum and tried to impose with the ball, but an ankle injury forced him off for Jack McGrath in the second half.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 2 Rory Best – 7 out of 10 Reliable in the lineout, which hasn’t always been his case, and he carried well. Gave away a penalty when France were on the attack, but that was his only downfall.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 3 Mike Ross – 6 out of 10 Continues to improve in the scrum but could have done more with the ball as he rarely carried over the gainline.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 4 Devin Toner – 7 out of 10 Another who was singled out by Nigel Owens for his discipline early on, but France could not stop the towering lock in the lineout as he repeatedly disrupted and stole the ball.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 5 Paul O’Connell – 5 out of 10 His World Cup looks over after suffering a bad knee injury, and at 35 years old his future with new club Toulon suddenly comes into question.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 6 Peter O’Mahony – 6 out of 10 Another to sadly depart on a stretcher. Guilty of a high tackle in the first half, but strong work in the lineout made up for it.
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 7 Sean O’Brien – 9 out of 10 Guilty of giving away more penalties than turnovers in the second half, but was a shining star in the first. Brilliant carrying and always the first to the breakdown. However, his completely unnecessary punch on Pape in the first half is likely to see him banned. The question is how long for?
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Ireland 24 France 9 player ratings 8 Jamie Heaslip – 7 out of 10 Grew in stature as his high profile teammates disappeared to injury. Started to carry more and Ireland benefitted hugely as a result.
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“Post training yesterday Johnny Sexton tightened up and although scans earlier in the week were normal a further scan yesterday afternoon revealed a very minor adductor strain.
“It was therefore felt that it was better to withdraw him from the game rather than risk further injury. Ian Madigan will start at out-half and Paddy Jackson comes onto the bench.”
Ireland have also confirmed that Leinster scrum-half Isaac Boss has been called up to the squad as an injury replacement for Ulster centre Jared Payne after he was ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a fractured foot.
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