Sexton provides the X factor

CARL LEWIS once said that life was all about timing and a man whose day job was all about shaving milliseconds should know.

It seems reasonable to say then that the former American athlete and multiple-Olympic champion would take a shining to Jonathan Sexton who, on Saturday, proved to be the right man in the right place at the right time.

Consider the circumstances. London Irish had just claimed the lead for the first time with Chris Malone’s penalty. There was just over one minute left on the clock and Leinster needed three points to secure a draw and a home quarter-final.

Sexton’s kick-off needed to be spot on to bring the ball back on Leinster’s side and set up the riposte. It was. Eoin Reddan loaded the breech and Sexton fired over a drop goal from just outside the 22.

“He’s improving,” said Michael Cheika. “He’s learned his trade well and he’s continuing to learn his trade which is the important thing. He knows he still has lots of things to improve on, and his composure is excellent now.

“He’s an instrumental part of the club and the way we are now. They really targeted him today, Mapusua ran at him several times, tackled him off the ball. You could see they were really targeting him and we talked about it at half time.

“He stayed cool under a real lot of fire.”

Sexton had missed a conversion and a penalty earlier but both were at distances and angles from which a kicker could confidently beg forgiveness. But the same could not be said for Malone.

The experienced Australian was chosen ahead of Ryan Lamb for the reliability of his boot and then he went and missed three penalties and a hat-trick of drop goals which, ultimately, cost Irish the win and a place in the last eight.

Two of the latter efforts were fluffed after Sexton’s late equaliser and while drop goals can be hit-or-miss affairs – literally – some of Malone’s spurned penalties and a conversion that hit the post simply beggared belief.

In all then, this was remarkably similar to Leinster’s last visit to Twickenham 12 months back when, despite another stuttering performance and a failure to win, they still left London with their job effectively done.

Last year it was a losing bonus point against Wasps that left them top of the group, this time it was a draw and two points that guaranteed a home draw irrespective of yesterday’s results.

Curiously, it is the first time that the province has secured a Dublin berth for the last eight in Cheika’s five years in charge but Leo Cullen has played down the significance of the venue.

“I think what you have to realise is you have to beat them all at some point,” said the Leinster captain. “Home advantage gives a slight advantage but it’s what you make of it on the day.”

As if to prove the point, the champions lost their last home quarter-final, in 2005, when Leicester proved too strong at Lansdowne Road and Leinster will need to up their game on this performance to avoid a repeat.

Both sides were guilty of a catalogue of errors that starved the contest of any modicum of momentum and, like the round one meeting at the RDS, this was a gruelling battle, no quarter asked or given.

“I don’t think we’ve had a physical match like that for a while, if at all this season,” said Cheika. “There were lots of big hits, lots of rugged scrumming and mauling and big collisions.”

That said, there were cameos to light up the gloom.

Leinster managed a pair of sublime backline moves in the first half but had two possible touchdowns ruled out for forward passes and Cheika duly admitted that they gilded the lily on occasion.

They made it third time lucky shortly after Malone’s 35th minute penalty had cancelled out Sexton’s opening gambit and it came courtesy of a powerful Leinster effort at an Irish scrum.

Deep inside their own 22, the Exiles lost control which allowed Jamie Heaslip to pick up and power towards the line. Reddan followed up and his pass sent Isa Nacewa over in the corner.

Even with the missed conversion, and only 8-3 in front, Leinster were looking comfortable and they emerged unscathed from Cian Healy’s 10 minutes in the sinbin early in the second period before Irish set up the dramatic end game.

Mapusua made the first dent in the defensive line after 66 minutes, and the number eight Chris Hala’ufia another, before Malone appeared on the scene and crept in to secure the score after Nigel Owens consulted his video official.

It seemed like redemption for Malone for all those missed kicks but the crowd of 37,323 wasn’t to know that the out-half’s disastrous day with the boot was only halfway over and that it was Sexton who would prove to be the ultimate saviour.

LONDON IRISH: D Armitage, T Ojo, E Seveali’i, S Mapusua, S Tagicakibau, C Malone, P Hodgson, C Dermody, D Paice, F Rautenbach, N Kennedy, B Casey, R Thorpe, S Armitage, C Hala’Ufia.

Replacements: P Richards for Hodgson (33), D Murphy for Dermody (71), P Ion for Rautenbach (60), G Johnson for Casey (80), K Roche for S Armitage (60).

LEINSTER: R Kearney, S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, I Nacewa, J Sexton, E Reddan, C Healy, B Jackman, C Van Der Linde, L Cullen, N Hines, K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip.

Referee: N Owens (Wales).