Ireland
Sexton was selected as part of the Ireland squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship but sustained a fractured thumb shortly beforehand playing for Leinster.
Sexton was selected to play for Ireland A in the 2009 Churchill Cup. Ireland A went on to win the tournamnent beating England Saxons 49–22 in the final with Sexton scoring 15 points despite being sin-binned.
He won his first cap for Ireland in the Test against Fiji at the RDS in Dublin on 21 November 2009 scoring 16 points (5 conversions and 2 penalty goals), kicking 7 from 7 in extremely difficult weather conditions and winning Man of the Match with his impressive International debut.
On 24 November 2009 Sexton was selected ahead of veteran fly-half Ronan O'Gara in Ireland's autumn international against world cup champions South Africa at Croke Park. He kicked all of Ireland's 15 points and after the match, it was revealed that Sexton had played out Ireland's thrilling 15-10 victory with a broken hand.
Sexton returned to the Ireland squad for the 2010 Six Nations, he came on as a substitute in Ireland's loss against France. He was selected to earn his first Six Nations start in the match against England in Twickenham on February 27, 2010. Ireland won the game 20–16 at Twickenham with Sexton before being replaced by Ronan O'Gara late in the game. Sexton started against Wales and Scotland, being replaced by Ronan O'Gara in both games towards the end. Over the six nations, his kicking success rate was much lower than in his first few tests, missing several kicks however, it should be noted that Sexton was suffering from a quad injury at the time and was commended for his playmaking ability.
He was named in Ireland's squad for the 2010 Summer Tests, coming off the bench to replace O'Gara against New Zealand. He started against New Zealand Maori and kicked 23 points, and started against Australia, kicking all of Ireland's 15 points in the game. Sexton was named RBS 6 Nations Man of the Match following his role in Ireland's successful attempt to stop England's hunt for a Grand Slam in the 2011 RBS 6 Nations.
Read more about this topic: Jonathan Sexton
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
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