Ireland vs France player ratings: Sean O'Brien and Robbie Henshaw star but Paul O'Connell suffers serious injury
Man-for-man marking from the Pool D finale as Ireland seal top spot with a 24-9 victory
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Ireland fought their way to a memorable 24-9 victory over France to top Pool D of the Rugby World Cup and ensure that they cannot face either New Zealand or South Africa before the final, but the win came at a huge cost as a number of key players suffered potential tournament-ending injuries.
The Ireland fly-half Jonathan Sexton and French full-back Scott Spedding exchanged penalties early in the match to leave the game finely poised at 6-6 when the first incident of note took place. Sexton was hit and hit hard by the No 8 Louis Picamoles, and when he failed to get up the whole of the Emerald isle took a sharp intake of breath.
Sexton’s injury may have gone down to sprinting after a poor kick moments before, but the Picamoles tackle didn’t help and he was forced off the field.
His replacement, Ian Madigan, immediately added a third penalty before Paul O’Connel was carted off on a stretcher on the stroke of half-time – his World Cup looking all but over due to a serious knee injury.
After the break though, it was the Irish full-back Rob Kearney who crossed the line and gave Ireland the try their work-rate deserved. Soon after, flanker Peter O’Mahony was following O’Connell off in exactly the same fashion – his injury unknown.
Replacement scrum-half Morgan Parra added another penalty for Les Blues but that’s as good as it got, and when Conor Murray dotted down at the base of the post, Ireland’s victory was sealed and they progress to the knockout stages with their unbeaten record intact.
So who shone brightest during the fiercely contested encounter? Click on the gallery below to find out.
Who was you man of the match? Leave your thoughts in the gallery below.
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