Sunday 26 February 2017 14:11, UK
Joe Schmidt says Ireland's Six Nations destiny is back in their own hands after Saturday's 19-9 win over France in Dublin.
Ireland can now set up a title decider with England in Dublin on March 18 with victory against Wales in Cardiff in a fortnight.
England will be expected to pitch up in Dublin chasing both a second successive Grand Slam and a world record 19th consecutive win, but must first see off Italy and Scotland at Twickenham.
Asked if Ireland's destiny is back in their own hands, Schmidt said: "Yes I think it is and I think one of the key things is that England are going to keep going full speed.
"I think Scotland have proven they are very difficult to get past.
"Losing Greig Laidlaw is a big blow for them, but they will go fully armed to Twickenham. This championship is super, it's intense, we're on the edge of our seat as coaches."
Schmidt expects England to extend their winning streak and admitted Ireland's final-day showdown with England would lose a degree of lustre should it not represent a winner-takes-all title battle.
"We probably haven't done the maths because we've tried to stay focused on the immediate challenge," said Schmidt.
"Probably because of the bonus points we gained against Scotland and Italy, and England haven't had a bonus point yet, that has helped.
"But England have had two super-tough games. And we've got Wales away to come.
"We're not thinking about anything back here at the end of the championship yet. But it will appeal a lot less to us if it's not for the championship."
Sexton was particularly impressive on his return after a month out through injury and played 70 minutes in the win for the Irish.
The 31-year-old was subjected to the latest in a long sequence of intimidation tactics from the French, but this time emerged both unscathed and victorious.
"In a measured way I thought he was really, really positive for us," said Schmidt of Sexton.
"He varied the game, we varied it up a bit in the second half. We had to try to get them chasing things rather than chasing us.
"I thought he did it superbly, a couple of great kicks in behind. That allowed us to keep the pressure on. He never shirks his defensive responsibilities anyway, Johnny.
"We probably aimed to give him 50 to 55 (minutes), but with the nature of the game, and him having the wind knocked out of him at one point where he had a two-minute rest, we gave him a bit longer.
"It's certainly not the first time Johnny's come straight back like that. He prepares himself incredibly well, he wants to be his best all the time."
