Ireland are in the last eight but at a mighty cost.
Paul O’Connell and Johnny Sexton were respectively stretchered and helped off the Millennium Stadium pitch, this evening, and another stretcher was summoned for Peter O’Mahony after the break.
Ireland stayed strong and put the French to bed in the second-half but they will be without some key players for their quarter final meeting with Argentina, back here, next Sunday.
Post-match, Joe Schmidt paid tribute to the on-field leaders that ‘stood up’ after the loss of the key trio. His injury updates were mixed, however.
Schmidt said, “It doesn’t look great with Paul. It looks like an upper hamstring.
“We’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to wait for the inflammation to drop, so we can get a scan.
“Johnny, it looked like an abductor [groin] today. That is not from the learned eye of a medic. We’ll probably have to get Johnny scanned tomorrow, and Peter O’Mahony as well.
“With Pete,” Schmidt added, “it didn’t seem too bad. We’re hopeful with him.
“It is a twist of the ankle or knee.
“He was walking okay in the changing room [after] so we are hopeful.”
Schmidt added, “I have spoken briefly with Johnny and he is already talking about next week.
“I’m not sure whether that means he will be playing or not, but he is never short of advice.
“It’s probably Paul who worries me the most of those three.”
