Super Johnny Sexton shows why he’s Joe Schmidt’s man

Given the close nature of this fixture in the Six Nations in recent years, a 10 point win is not to be sniffed at, writes Donal Lenihan.

Joe Schmidt’s impeccable record of never having lost a Six Nations contest at the Aviva Stadium has served to keep Ireland’s hunt for a third championship in four seasons very much alive.

Only time will tell whether a second defeat on the bounce for Wales will serve to galvanise them further for our visit to Cardiff in that dreaded Friday night slot on March 10 or drain them of confidence ahead of what has become another must win game for Schmidt’s men in order to retain a fighting chance of title success for the visit of all conquering England — who were pushed to the wire by Italy yesterday — on St Patrick’s weekend.