Johnny Sexton will be feeling these hits for a while.
Ireland outhalf was in action this afternoon in the first of the Christmas back-to-back fixtures against Toulon in the European Champions Cup.
Ma’a Nonu made his European debut for Toulon, and the All-Black made a startling impression on Sexton as he ploughed through the former Racing Metro man in the first half.
Nice to meet you Nonu pic.twitter.com/cSVJojpnAL
— Kevin Mc Gillicuddy (@KMcGillicuddy86) December 13, 2015
The outhalf wasn’t only battered by the centre, but he also took a battering from Drew Mitchell just minutes later:
Sexton smashed pic.twitter.com/zkWjr52xHc
— Kevin Mc Gillicuddy (@KMcGillicuddy86) December 13, 2015
Sexton contributed nine points for the Blues but they could not get going at all. They survived a 10-minute spell with Cian Healy in the sin-bin but were blunted in attack.
Toulon eventually ran out 24-9 winners and all but eliminated the Irish province from the competition they have won three times since 2009.
