Johnny Sexton: Better a Grand Slam than the best day of my life | Steve Borthwick: Freddie Steward Wasn’t Tackle

Ireland’s Johnny Sexton called his team’s Grand Slam win “something special, incredible and dreamy” and “better than the best day of my life”. England’s Steve Borthwick questioned Freddie Steward’s red card, saying: “What was clear was that Freddie wasn’t going to make a tackle.”

Johnny Sexton said guiding Ireland to its first Six Nations Grand Slam in Dublin was ‘better than the best day of his life’, while England head coach Steve Borthwick received a red card from Freddie Steward. “He wasn’t trying to make a tackle,” he said. ‘

The Irish Grand Slam victories in 1948 (Belfast), 2009 (Cardiff) and 2018 (Twickenham) were all away victories, but hooker Dan Sheehan (twice) and center Robbie Henshaw and substitute Rob Herring’s tries secured the title. success.

Sexton also added nine points in the boot in his final Six Nations Test, becoming the all-time leading points scorer in the championship in the process.

“It was an incredible atmosphere. It was very special,” Sexton said at the post-match press conference after picking up the winner’s medal.

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Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says he’s happy to have won a Grand Slam at home, while England’s Steve Borthwick admits his side fell short.

“It was incredible with 98% of the crowd present and playing fair for England as they emerged. That says a lot about their captain and coach.

“They made it tough and we made it tough for ourselves. I’m sure we can learn a lot from it, but for now we’re just going to have 48 hours of fun.

“They certainly don’t come very often [days like this]The 4th time shows how hard it is. It is very difficult because it means so much to play for your country.

“We won a Grand Slam. It’s a pinch moment. We really couldn’t do it all over again. It’s like a dream.”

Sexton became the all-time leading goalscorer in Six Nations history with the win.

“When I was a kid, all I wanted was to play for Ireland. For me, I don’t know why, but I always wanted to be Ireland’s captain.

“[Head coach Andy Farrell] It was probably the best day of my life.

“A great management team, lots of players and I said in the dressing room that this is not the end and there is a lot left for this team.”

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell added: in the history of Ireland.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says he is ‘very proud’ of his charges

“This is a special occasion, especially given the weekend so far. We felt obligated not to let people down and I can say it’s a relief to get the job done.”

“But I’m very proud. A Grand Slam isn’t something that happens in a night like this, it’s not something that happens over seven weeks, it’s something that happens as long as we’re together. ”

A very important moment came just before the interval when a foul play by the stewards took place. Hugo knocked his Keenan down with one arm and touched the Irish full-back’s head to red out his card.

But for Borthwick, his fullback wasn’t about to tackle the incident.

“If we’re talking about tackle height, we can talk about tackle height, and that’s fine,” Borthwick said.

“But what was clear was that Freddie (the steward) wasn’t trying to tackle.

Referee Jaco Paper ejects Freddie Steward for head contact with Hugo Keenan

“There will be disciplinary action, and it’s not right for anyone, or for me right now, to talk about specific incidents.

“But it’s not tackle height.

“Congratulations to this Irish team on winning the Grand Slam, we can see how they have built up in this World Cup cycle and performed very well throughout this Six Nations.”

Regarding the red card, England skipper Owen Farrell added:

“I didn’t hear what the referee was going through, I just had to accept it.

“I thought it was a great match, a great test match and the reaction after receiving the red card was very good. We fought for each other.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to come out on the right side of the result. It’s always a disappointment in the England uniform.”