The storied career of Johnny Sexton came a dramatic end following Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final defeat against New Zealand.
Sexton, a two-time British & Irish Lions tourist, retires with just the World Cup from his incredible CV but there has never been a better opportunity for Ireland, the number one side in the world and expectations are high.
He leaves the scene as an all-time great, having won the Guinness Six Nations four times, with two Grand Slams, three Triple Crowns, four Heineken Champions Cups, one European Challenge Cup and six United Rugby Championship titles as well as being named the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2018.
Here is a look back at the key moments along the way in the making of a Lions legend.
Breaking through
With Felipe Contepomi going down with a knee injury, a 23-year-old Johnny Sexton was tasked with steering the Leinster ship towards their first European glory in 2009.
Coming on as a replacement in the semi-final against Munster in front of 82,000 people at Croke Park, Sexton won his battle with then Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara, himself a three-time tourist.
He scored seven points as Leinster defeated Munster 25-6 to secure their place in their first-ever European final.
Sexton starred again in the final, this time in front of a packed-out Murrayfield against Leicester Tigers.
He nailed an audacious drop goal from the halfway line, before later scoring the winning penalty as Leinster won 19-16.
First cap for Ireland
Unsurprisingly after such a breakthrough moment and having become the first-choice fly-half at Leinster, Sexton was named in the Ireland squad for the 2009 November internationals, having missed the 2008 Six Nations with a broken thumb.
He took to Test rugby like a duck to water, quite literally in fact, as he scored 16 points with a faultless kicking display in awful conditions, claiming the Player of the Match award in the process, as Ireland defeated Fiji 41-6.
The Saints comeback
With one European title under their belt already, Leinster found themselves in another final, this time in Cardiff in 2011, where they played Northampton Saints.
Saints raced into a 22-6 lead at half-time but Sexton lead the charge in the second half, inspiring Leinster to one of the great final comebacks, scoring two tries on his way to a 28-point haul as Leinster won 33-22.
2013 Lions Tour
Now an established member of the Ireland team, Sexton earned his first call-up to the British & Irish Lions for the Tour to Australia in 2013.
Despite coming close in 2001 and 2009, the Lions had not won a Test series since the famous 1997 series win, putting the pressure on Warren Gatland to deliver.
Sexton was named as the starting fly-half in all three Tests, playing the full 80 minutes in both of the first two, before scoring the all-important try in the third to seal a 2-1 win.
Conquering the All Blacks
In one of the most famous victories in the history of Test match rugby, Ireland ended their 111-year wait for a win over New Zealand with a fantastic 40-29 triumph in Chicago.
Sexton was again a hugely important figure in the win, scoring 10 points from the tee and assisting Simon Zebo’s try early in the second half.
It was a day that announced both Sexton and Ireland as real world beaters, stunning the world champions just a year before the Lions went to face them.
2017 Lions Tour
The British & Irish Lions were tasked with doing something only the legends of the 1971 Tour had achieved and defeat New Zealand.
Sexton was once again selected by Gatland and he played a major role in the series, coming off the bench in the 30-15 defeat in the first Test, before starting in both the 24-21 win in Wellington and the 15-15 draw in the decider.
Although they were denied a series victory by the barest of margins, it remains only the second Tour against the All Blacks that did not result in defeat.
A dream year
Although Sexton had won Six Nations titles in 2013 and in 2014, neither of those wins were Grand Slams.
That was until Ireland and Sexton had a Championship to remember, with the long-range drop goal in Round 1 against France setting up what would be an historic Grand Slam.
Sexton ran the show with 44 points as Ireland lifted their first Grand Slam since 2009 and only their third ever.
His year was far from over there though, with plenty more success to come in both the colours of Leinster and Ireland.
Less than two months after the conclusion of the Six Nations, Sexton was lifting his fourth European crown, as Leinster ended their seven-year drought with a 15-12 win over Racing 92.
It got even better too, as in the autumn internationals Sexton was a key component in another record-breaking team, as Ireland defeated New Zealand 16-9 – their first ever win over the All Blacks in Ireland – with Sexton scoring 11 points from the tee.
Series win in New Zealand
Sexton took over the Ireland captaincy after Rory Best retired and he went on to create more history last summer.
After starring in Chicago six years previously and both victories in Dublin, arguably Sexton’s greatest ever moment came when leading Ireland to a first-ever series victory in New Zealand.
Sexton guided Ireland to their first-ever win on Kiwi soil in the second Test, kicking 13 points to inspire them on their way to a 30-24 win, with the series win in the third Test seeing Ireland become the world number one side.
More Slam success
Ireland went through the Autumn Nations Series unbeaten and came into the Guinness Six Nations as the favourites.
Once again it was the match against France, who themselves had won the Grand Slam the year before and were ranked number two in the world, that was the key.y
Sexton starred once more in that game, although he did go off injured after 47 minutes, before leading Ireland to a first Grand Slam title won on Irish soil since 1948.
