JOHNNY Sexton hailed Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony as ‘three legends’ that ‘we will miss’ going forward’.
The trio’s final outing in green at the Aviva Stadium was spoiled by a brilliant display by visitors France on Saturday.
They will close out their Ireland careers in Rome on Saturday against Italy[/caption]
O’Mahony started before being withdrawn around the hour while his veteran peers were introduced over the closing stages – with Healy even bagging a consolation try.
As the dust settles on the storybook ending of a Grand Slam and likely Six Nations championship win likely going up in smoke, Sexton posted a tribute to them on Instagram.
He emphasized: “Influential on and off the pitch til their very last game.
“We will miss them. Three legends. End of an era.”
Another longtime former teammate of theirs in Rob Kearney was in less of a position to lavish them with praise in his guise as a Virgin Media pundit.
Following coverage of England sweeping aside Italy, he, Andrew Trimble and Matt Williams delved into where it all went wrong for Ireland.
He said: “After 45 minutes we were all sitting watching it and it was hard to see anything but an Irish win.
“The French had a bit of a realization moment that they went back to their power game and how they have become such a successful team and just beat the opposition up.
“We didn’t see it at all in the first 40 minutes and then it just triggered them. Lucu played very well.
“We all thought when [Antoine] Dupont went off injured, it was another big bonus for Ireland.
“Unfortunately, that last 35 minutes was as bad as Ireland has played in some time and potentially could be damaging to them.
“It was a little bit more than a beating there.”
Ireland carried a number of injuries into the game, with Jamie Osborne drafted in for Mack Hansen.
James Lowe, meanwhile, was pulled from the team with a back spasm during the warm-up, with Calvin Nash brought in.
Despite the somewhat makeshift nature of the starting XV, they acquainted reasonably well in the opening half without getting a return on the scoreboard.
France, meanwhile, looked constantly dangerous, with Dupont having a try disallowed for a knock-on before Louise Bielle-Biarrey scored his first of two tries.
And Kearney’s fellow pundit Williams argued that it was this period of the first-half that ultimately cost them by the time France adapted.
He said: “France played brilliantly in that last 35.
“The try just after the sin binning in the second-half, they just went bang, bang, bang, bang down that same hole.
“It was their power game. Their forwards were very strong.
“Ireland were weakened – it wasn’t the strongest team they could have put out – and it also proves tactically Ireland got beaten.
“The first 20 minutes, Ireland lost it because they did not get enough points.
“They should have scored more in that part and the scoreboard started putting pressure on them.”
