Sexton doubt for France

Ireland fly-half Jonny Sexton will face a fitness battle to be ready to face France in the RBS 6 Nations on March 9 after he was confirmed as having suffered a grade two tear to his right hamstring.

Sexton pulled up clutching the back of his thigh after 30 minutes of last Sunday’s clash with England at the Aviva Stadium in a game that left the Ireland dressing room looking like a casualty ward.

Team manager Mick Kearney last night confirmed that Top 14-bound Sexton was definitely out of Ireland’s next Six Nations match, against Scotland in Edinburgh on February 24, and said the usual recovery period for a grade two tear was four to six weeks, the lower limit of which would fall on the weekend of the France match. With Ireland concluding their campaign on March 16 in Italy, a worst-case scenario would have Sexton missing the rest of the championship.