Sexton breaks record in show of strength from eight-try Ireland
Breaker Inpho With Wife His Celebrates Sexton In Nantes With Jonathan A Sheridan, Pic: Record Laura Sealed Kiss: Dan
Ireland 59 Tonga 16
Ireland tuned up for their heavyweight Pool B clash with South Africa next week with an emphatic World Cup victory over Tonga on Saturday night as captain Johnny Sexton became his country’s leading all-time points scorer.
A week on from a record-breaking 82-8 win over Romania in Bordeaux, Ireland overcame much stiffer opposition at Stade de la Beaujoire with an eight-try victory in front of a huge army of travelling supporters in the 31,673 crowd. Securing the additional try bonus point that gives them a maximum return from their opening two games also allowed head coach Andy Farrell to withdraw a host of frontline players ahead of next Saturday’s showdown with the defending champion Springboks at Stade de France in Paris.
One of those was the captain, Sexton having scored a try, a penalty and four conversions before his substitution at half-time that pushed him past Ronan O’Gara’s mark of 1083 points to make the 38-year-old Ireland’s leading points scorer.
Two second-half tries from man of the match Bundee Aki, continuing his impressive start to France 2023, highlighted the try-scoring with Sexton and Tadhg Beirne also adding to their opening-game doubles with a try apiece plus additional tries from Caelan Doris, Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Rob Herring.
Andy Farrell’s selection of a near full-strength side had raised eyebrows but France and Wales’s respective struggles to overcome Uruguay and Portugal with weakened line-ups had vindicated the Ireland boss’s decision even before kick-off.
The luxury of a try bonus point secured before half-time further endorsed Farrell’s policy. Tonga, playing their first game at this tournament, had threatened both physicality and flair and produced both, with former All Black Charles Piutau particularly troublesome from full-back when Ireland kicked to him.
Yet the Tongans were guilty over over-eagerness and their frequent blurring of the offside line tried referee Wayne Barnes’s patience, Sexton taking advantage with a sixth-minute penalty to open the scoring.
Tonga fly-half William Havili levelled the contest with a three-pointer 10 minutes later but then came a flurry of Ireland’s tries before the interval. Prop Andrew Porter had already had one score struck off due to a Hansen knock-on picking up a loose ball before Tadhg Beirne capitalised on a wonderful line ran by Caelan Doris to breach the opposition defence on 20 minutes, Sexton converting.
Havili closed the gap with another penalty shortly after but Ireland struck again with a seven-point haul, this time Doris finishing a driving lineout maul with his captain adding the extras.
Hansen was next to cross the whitewash with a superb solo finish having gathered a bouncing pass on the right wing. He cut inside and danced past three defenders before diving over to put Ireland into a 22-6 lead, Sexton’s successful conversion bringing up the nine points necessary to surpass O’Gara’s haul.
The skipper was not done there, scoring the next try to bring up the bonus point on 38 minutes after great work from scrum-half Conor Murray and Garry Ringrose. Sexton still had work to do but he went past the last defender to score under the posts, matching Beirne with his third try of the tournament. The conversion was a formality, pushing Ireland into a 31-6 lead but Tonga kept the contest alive with a try to end the opening half, former Connacht No.8 Vaea Fifita peeling off a five-metre scrum with Havili adding the conversion to close the Tongan deficit to 31-13 following a yellow card for Peter O’Mahony for killing the ball at a ruck.
The late score did not alter Farrell’s inclination to withdraw some of his big guns at the interval, next Saturday’s clash with defending champions South Africa clearly in mind. Off came Sexton and the entire front row of Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong, with James Ryan and Garry Ringrose withdrawn 10 minutes into the second half. Furlong was forced to return with his replacement Finlay Bealham hauled off with an injury, also on 50 minutes.
Ireland lost their way a little after the break, a succession of penalty concessions allowing Havili to add another three points with a successful penalty but the Grand Slam winners were not hampered in an attacking sense, James Lowe and Bundee Aki adding the fifth and sixth tries either side of the hour mark.
Aki added another, his second double in as many weeks for his fourth of the tournament, on 69 minutes to bring up the 50-point milestone, with Ross Byrne’s third conversion of the half since replacing Sexton pushing Ireland’s lead to 52-16.
Replacement hooker Rob Herring finished the game with the final try, again converted by Byrne and Ireland will march on Paris for their date with the Springboks with confidence sky high.
H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose (R Henshaw, 50), B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton – captain (R Byrne, h-t), C Murray (C Casey, 56); A Porter (D Kilcoyne, h-t), R Kelleher (R Herring, h-t), T Furlong (F Bealham, h-t; Furlong 50); T Beirne, J Ryan (I Henderson, 50); P O’Mahony, J van der Flier, C Doris.
O’Mahony 40-50 Replacement not used: R Baird.
C Piutau; A Taumoefolau, M Fekitoa, P Akhi, S Kata; W Havili, A Pulu (S Takalua, h-t); S Fisi’ihoi (T Koloamatang, 60), P Ngauamo (S Moli, 50), B Tameifuna (S Apikota, 60); S Lousi, H Fifita; T Halaifonua (S Funaki, 52), S Talitui, V Fifita.
S Paea, S Vailanu.
Wayne Barnes (England)