The last time Ireland won the Grand Slam, Johnny Sexton had yet to break into the team.
In 2009, Johnny Sexton was one of seven uncapped players in Ireland’s Six Nations squad. However, with veteran Ronan O’Gara at number 10, the rookie couldn’t get a look into the starting XV. He could only watch on as the Munster man nailed that famous drop goal at Cardiff before Stephen Jones’ penalty dropped short of the mark.
Eventually, Sexton established himself as the first choice fly-half for his country. Having already pushed O’Gara out to a lesser role, once the legendary kicker retired, he solidified his position as the starting out-half for Ireland.
From that position, he was part of Six Nations-winning sides in 2014 and 2015, but it wasn’t until 2018 when he finally won the Grand Slam. Remarkably, it was his drop goal against France in the tournament’s opener that proved to be key to the team achieving this feat.
Oh no!
Sexton was understandably in dreamland after the Grand Slam clincher at Twickenham. He enjoyed the victory as much as any of the other heroes on the pitch. The fierce competitor even danced a merry jig before embracing his Godfather Billy Keane in the crowd.
Nothing could spoil the day. Absolutely nothing.
Well, losing the medal may put a dampener on it. Some footage emerged after the game which seemed to show just that. Sexton staring down at the weightless ribbon around his neck to discover that the medal had gone missing.
#WheresJohnnysGold? pic.twitter.com/hFjmcwMb1z
— The Rugby Paper (@TheRugbyPaper) March 18, 2018
So where the hell did his medal go?
We’re not sure, but we do know a couple of things. Sexton had the medal before he went into the crowd to hug Keane. When he reemerged, it was gone.
We’d like to think he gave it to Keane or another member of his family for safe-keeping. Perhaps in the heat of the moment, he simply forgot he had left it somewhere safe.
