Johnny Sexton missed Ireland's win over Australia after hurting his calf in the warm-up, Andy Farrell has revealed.
The Ireland captain was withdrawn from the starting XV just 20 minutes before kick-off at the Aviva Stadium, with Munster fly-half Jack Crowley, who only made his Test debut last weekend, replacing him.
Farrell said after the game: “Johnny went out to do some kicking before the warm-up and he hurt his calf."
READ MORE: Ross Byrne says match-winning penalty against Australia the highlight of his Ireland career
But the Ireland head coach was full of praise for Ross Byrne, who showed incredible composure to kick over the match-winning penalty three minutes from time.
“It’s awesome for him,” Farrell said of Byrne. “I was absolutely delighted for him.
“You know Ross’ temperament, it’s made for him that type of situation where it’s deadlocked.
“It was a tough enough kick when the penalty came but there was no doubt in Ross’ mind that he was ever going to do anything but go for the three points, so fair play to him.
“He’s waited for that chance and he delivered it and got us over the line.”
Asked where Ireland stand going into 2023, Farrell added: “With a lot to do, which is great, and that’s the reality.
“We’ve certain aspects of our game, as always, that we’d love to get better at.”
Australia produced a spirited response to their embarrassing loss in Florence and came very close to upsetting the majority of a sold-out Aviva Stadium crowd.
The Wallabies, whose other five points came from the boot of Bernard Foley, were briefly reduced to 13 men after the departures of hookers Dave Porecki and Folau Fainga’a to injury and the sin-bin respectively led to uncontested scrums.
Head coach Dave Rennie said: “It was gutsy, we hung in the fight, a fair bit of adversity tonight.
“Obviously we ended up having to play with 13 at one stage, so there was a huge amount of character.
“But frustration because we had our opportunities. I’m gutted for the boys because it was very winnable.
“They’re a high-quality side and we had chances early that we need to sting them with. We played a lot of good footy tonight but not a lot of reward.”
READ NEXT:
RTE viewers praise 'bold' Eamon Dunphy after legendary pundit takes aim at Qatar on Late Late Show
Aldo's Malta magic, celebrating with the fans & why the World Cup is a turn-off
Rory McIlroy storms into contention at DP World Tour Championship
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
