Well, that was something. It can take years or even decades to capture a moment in sport that defines a player, a team and a moment of broadcasting. TV3 must be rubbing their eyes since Saturday evening after being presented with just such a moment at the end of their first ever 6 Nations coverage of an Ireland game.

It had been an attritional 80 minutes and with France snatching a late lead then missing a kickable penalty to put the game out of reach there will be some who might have stood up to go about the business of the rest of the night.

We know though that sport can deliver the most sublime moments from the most unexpected setups.

41 phases of play, tight discipline from the Frensch who had displayed little enough up until then. One cross-field kick that was among the best of its kind and then one moment when Jonathon Sexton decided to screw his courage to the sticking place and take his chance rather than wait for something easier.

It is in these moments that a players career will be remembered. Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal to win the Grand Slam may have had more immediate import but it was from only half the distance to goal. It also left enough time for Stephen Jones to miss his late penalty.

Saturday was special because it was after such a physically demanding game, and came with the very last kick of the game.

Commentators can often wait for a whole career to get a moment that will both test them and create their enduring legacy. For Dave McIntyre in the TV3 commentator’s box for the first time at the competition, he stood up with “It’s spinning, it’s spinning, Jonathan Sexton has made it. He has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Ireland. The full-time whistle has gone.”

It was a great way to end day one, better than the start when the channel was berated for missing the kick-off due to an ad break before the Wales Scotland game in Cardiff, but better to finish on a high.

The station also unveiled Gilette as their broadcast sponsors across TV and digital during the tournament, a deal we will look at in more detail during the week ahead.

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Image Credit Ramsey Cardy, Sportsfile