Ireland 24-9 France
by Michael McCann
at The Millennium Stadium

IRELAND coach Joe Schmidt and scrum-half Conor Murray both singled out substitute Ian Madigan for special praise after the fly-half helped secure a 24-9 victory over France to top Pool D on Sunday.

Madigan came on for injured world-class playmaker Jonny Sexton and helped Ireland secure a quarter-final against Argentina.

Murray said the game was a “big test” putting his teammate under a lot of pressure but that Madigan passed “with flying colours.”

Schmidt also praised Madigan despite rarely picking out individuals.

“You are always delighted when young guys come through the system and I think if anyone saw Ian away from the game they would see how hard he works.”