Update: Sexton manages to maintain a sense of equilibrium under the spotlight

'It was like being sucker-punched a couple of times'

GRIM: Jonathan Sexton during the post-match press conference 

The voice box can tremble with emotion. Air emerges from the lungs, through the trachea and into the larynx. It makes the vocal folds vibrate so that they take turns trapping air and releasing it. Johnny Sexton’s voice didn’t tremble. He held his throat tight with his right hand as he spoke.

It seemed to be the only way to get through it as he delivered his first answer on the back of a request to reflect on, well, everything. And less than an hour after his Ireland team’s loss to New Zealand in a World Cup quarter-final that doubled as the swansong for his long and glittering career.