He will finish up one World Cup finals shy of Lionel Messi's total of five, but what Johnny Sexton would give to end on the same triumphant note come next October.
Messi's World Cup history was littered with heartbreak - with what might have beens and outright failures - before the seismic events of December 18th at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, when his last finals appearance reached the crescendo of that emotional victory on penalties over reigning champions France.
For the Argentinian wizard, it provided that definitive stamp of greatness that, arguably, he was missing, the icing on the cake success that not just put him on a par with his legendary compatriot Diego Maradona and Brazil's Pele but that elevated him above their out of this world talents.
