Ian Madigan could have been the ‘fall guy’ if Ireland were pipped to Six Nations title

If Robbie Henshaw was tearing his hair out watching France versus England, spare a thought for Ian Madigan.

The Leinster and Ireland back missed a penalty at his one and only visit to the kicking tee, near the end of Ireland's 40-10 win over Scotland on the final day of the Six Nations. It felt like an inconvenience at the time but, as England totted up a monster score on the French, it appeared that the three missed points would cost Ireland the championship. Added to Johnny Sexton's two missed penalties, Ireland had left some handy points out on the Murrayfield pitch. Ultimately, France scored a late Vincent Debaty try and held firm, losing 55-35. The result meant Ireland had retained their trophy. Madigan was interviewed today about Leinster's upcoming Champions Cup match with Bath but, first, he had to deal with that penalty miss and his mental state during the France-England try-fest. 'It was pretty tough,' he admitted. 'Obviously the way sports people are, you like to take responsibility and myself and Johnny would probably have been the fall guys had they got over and converted the try. 'You have also got to take into account, it’s a competition that is played over five games and everyone played their part. I was very relieved they didn’t score, but I was also looking at the bigger picture.' Hat-tip: @killeroc