Warren Gatland believes that a 24-nation Rugby World Cup would help to grow the game.

An expansion from the current 20 countries for Australia 2027 or the United States four years later has been mooted in some quarters.

The current tournament in France has already been highlighted by outstanding performances from lower-ranked teams.

Uruguay pushed France for large parts of a gripping Pool A encounter before losing 27-12, while Portugal gave Gatland’s Wales plenty to ponder and Chile had their moments in games against Japan and Samoa.

“I thought Uruguay were outstanding – it is brilliant for the game,” Wales head coach Gatland said, following a 28-8 victory over Portugal.

“Portugal were fantastic and showed a lot of enterprise, and you could argue that Uruguay were pretty unlucky in a few situations (against France).

“I think it is important that we continue to develop from a rugby perspective to help develop these tier two nations.

“There might be a situation where we can increase the number of teams in the World Cup to 24, and that would continue to help grow the game.

“That is an important aspect. You don’t want top tier nations dominating, you want upsets – as long as I am not a part of it!

“I think it’s a real positive going forward to see teams competing and pushing other teams close.”

Portugal returned to the World Cup stage following a 16-year absence when they tackled Wales at Stade de Nice.

They qualified for the tournament by winning a repechage competition in Dubai, and full-back Nuno Sousa Guedes has no doubt that regular exposure against leading nations is what Portugal require.

Guedes and company made life tough for Wales, trailing by just four points approaching half-time, while they did not concede a bonus-point try until the game’s closing seconds.

“If we could keep playing games like this, it is the main thing,” Guedes said.

“For the kids back home who are starting out, it would be a very good step.

“In Portugal, it is always soccer. We want to show the world that it is not only soccer.

“We have the numbers in terms of rugby and some good kids coming up. I think we have the capacity.”

Sheffield United have condemned racist abuse and threats aimed towards goalkeeper Wes Foderingham following the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham.

Foderingham,  who made a string of fine saves to deny Spurs before conceding two goals in added time, said in an Instagram post on Saturday night:  “I don’t mind opposition fans calling me every name under the sun. But be easy with the racism and family threats. Think before you type.”

The Blades responded on Sunday morning offering support for their keeper and promising to investigate.

A statement read: “Sheffield United condemn the racist, abusive and threatening messages that have been sent to Wes Foderingham after yesterday’s game against Spurs.

“The club will now work with relevant bodies to investigate and support Wes.

“There is no room for racism in our game.”

Paul Heckingbottom’s side were 1-0 up heading into the closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a Gus Hamer opener.

But late goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski turned the game around and the Blades are still winless from their opening five fixtures.

Andrew Robertson believes Liverpool have been let off the leash.

The stand-in skipper hailed the Reds’ fresh start following their 3-1 win at Wolves on Saturday.

Robertson scored his first goal since May 2022 – also against Wolves – with five minutes left before Harvey Elliott’s shot deflected in off Hugo Bueno in stoppage time.

It capped a comeback started by Cody Gakpo’s second-half equaliser and extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Premier League, stretching back to last season, to 16 games.

They finished fifth last season, 22 points adrift of champions Manchester City but Robertson welcomed the clean slate.

“It’s a new start. We’ve got a lot of new players, kind of a new way of playing and things like that. So I think we just feel free,” he told the club’s official website after a fourth straight win.

“We’ve got good, exciting young players that sometimes you could probably see that in the first half where it was time to just put the foot on the ball and we were still maybe trying to force it.

“Then in the second half, they just came out, played with no fear and we made really good substitutions. Darwin (Nunez) caused problems, Harvey caused problems and Luis Diaz comes on at half-time.

“So, we’ve got a strong squad, we’ve still got players obviously missing with Trent (Alexander-Arnold) and Thiago.

“They weren’t in the squad so we can only get stronger. But if we keep everyone fit, we believe that we’ve got a squad that can compete, and we need to keep on showing that.”

Hwang Hee-chan gave Wolves an early lead and the hosts dominated the majority of the first half, with Matheus Cunha missing a golden chance to double their lead.

Defeat means Gary O’Neil’s side have lost four of their opening five league games, despite promising performances under the new head coach.

“Like the coach said after the game against Manchester United, we cannot perform at this kind of level and have this kind of game – the first half we dominated the game – and get out of it with zero points,” Pedro Neto told the club’s official website.

“We’re feeling it a lot, but we have to continue to work, we have to take points. We have to continue to do these first halves and take what we did in the first half into the second half.”

Celtic moved clear at the top of the cinch Premiership while there were also wins for Rangers, St Mirren and Hearts.

Livingston’s bus broke down on the way to Dingwall but they claimed a point while there was also a share of the spoils at Rugby Park.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

Rangers suffer Euro blow

Danilo was the most expensive of Rangers’ summer signings but his settling-in period will be prolonged.

He suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone when heading the opener in Saturday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone following a clash of heads that also saw Saints captain Liam Gordon go off.

The injury came before the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night and Michael Beale will have to come up with another formula in his ever-changing attack.

Aberdeen are the worst this century

The Dons remain on two points after a 2-0 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle in their fifth game of the season.

It is their worst start to a campaign since Ebbe Skovdahl lost his first seven league games as manager in 1999.

Aberdeen made 13 summer signings but there is little immediate sign of a return on investment.

The Dons have only won two of their last 13 games since Barry Robson was named permanent manager last season.

No stopping St Mirren

The unbeaten Buddies moved second as Scott Tanser’s cushioned volley proved enough to inflict Motherwell’s first league defeat of the season.

It completed an early-season double over the Lanarkshire side, who crashed out of the Viaplay Cup in Paisley.

Stephen Robinson’s side are unbeaten since the first game of the season, a Viaplay Cup defeat at Montrose.

Mixed feelings for new Hibs head coach

Nick Montgomery was happy with some of his side’s football and no doubt delighted to see them take a two-goal lead at Kilmarnock when Dylan Vente added to a Will Dennis own goal on the hour mark.

But signs of the inconsistency which dogged Montgomery’s predecessor, Lee Johnson, were soon evident as goals from Kyle Vassell and Joe Wright earned Killie a point and denied the new man a debut win.

Celtic introduce some new boys

Nat Phillips was handed a debut from the start as Celtic beat Dundee 3-0, although a minor ankle issue forced him off at half-time.

Three goals early in the second half allowed manager Brendan Rodgers to give some players a rest and he introduced Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo to the Parkhead faithful while handing Reo Hatate a comeback from injury.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claims excitement has wiped out any trepidation ahead of their Champions League opener.

The Scottish champions begin their European campaign against Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Tuesday.

Rodgers’ side warmed up with a 3-0 win over Dundee which took them two points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership on Saturday but there were further signs they are still finding their rhythm under Rodgers during a goalless first half when Joe Hart made an impressive save from Luke McCowan.

Rodgers, whose side also face Lazio and Atletico Madrid in the group stage, said: “It’s a really exciting time. I know there always can be a wee bit of trepidation going into the Champions League and the level, but for me there is nothing but excitement.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity for us playing in the elite competition in European club football.

“We are going to a real historical ground. We are coming off the back of a couple of really good wins in different ways.

“We will recover well, we will get our plan right and we will put out a team to get a result.

“We are really going to enjoy the Champions League. Listen, they are the Dutch champions so they will be a very good side.”

Daizen Maeda had a goal ruled out for offside and Matt O’Riley hit the post with a deflected effort but Celtic otherwise struggled to get in behind Dundee during the first half.

The breakthrough came in the 51st minute when David Turnbull netted a penalty after getting himself in the way of Ryan Howley’s over-eager attempts to win the ball on the edge of the box.

Celtic stepped up the tempo and Kyogo Furuhashi headed home before setting up O’Riley to round off the scoring midway through the half.

Rodgers had handed Nat Phillips a debut only for the on-loan Liverpool defender to come off at half-time with an ankle injury, although he is expected to be fit for Rotterdam.

Paulo Bernardo and Luis Palma made their Celtic debuts off the bench while Reo Hatate made his comeback from a calf injury during the second half.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty was happy with how his game plan was working at half-time and he vowed they would not be derailed by the 16-minute goal flurry.

Docherty, whose side host Kilmarnock on Saturday, said: “We will not be defined by losing at Celtic Park but what we will be defined by is our reaction to it.

“A lot of positives, a lot I was pleased about. Every goal was preventable but I have got to take positives and move on to what is a massive game next week at home.”

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton will continue to let his performances do the talking after warming up for world champions South Africa with another record-breaking display.

The 38-year-old surpassed former fly-half rival Ronan O’Gara as his country’s all-time leading scorer by moving on to 1,090 career points during Saturday’s emphatic 59-16 win over Tonga.

Sexton last week returned with a bang from almost six months on the sidelines to leapfrog O’Gara as Ireland’s top points scorer at the Rugby World Cup, in addition to becoming the oldest international to wear the green jersey.

His greatest challenge following his long-awaited comeback from injury and suspension undoubtedly lies ahead, with the tantalising Paris showdown against the Springboks likely to decide who tops Pool B.

“The proof of whether I’m in good form will be next Saturday,” said Sexton, who will retire after the tournament. “You’ve got to go and do it in the games.

“There’s no point in saying you’re feeling good or whatever. I just take it day by day, make sure I recover well, turn up to training on Monday and Tuesday and try and put the plan in place to take on the reigning world champions.

“They’ve hit a great vein of form and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us but one that we are really excited about and we feel we’re ready for it.”

Sexton claimed the fourth of Ireland’s eight tries on a history-making evening in Nantes.

He also kicked four conversions and a penalty to add to the 24-point haul he managed in the curtain-raiser against Romania before being withdrawn at half-time.

Bundee Aki’s second-half double, in between scores from James Lowe and Rob Herring, helped seal Ireland’s 15th successive win after Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris and Mack Hansen laid the foundations.

While Scotland will still hope to have a say, Ireland and South Africa lead the way in the group, with the eventual table-toppers likely to avoid hosts France and play New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

“Obviously we want to win the group,” said Sexton. “We want to win every game. That’s pretty clear.

“If you get through the group, it doesn’t matter if you finish first or second, you won’t have an easy game.

“But we’ll be going for the win next week and hopefully the game after (against Scotland) as well.”

Andy Farrell’s decision to name a strong starting XV at Stade de la Beaujoire was vindicated by a second successive bonus-point triumph from which his team emerged relatively unscathed.

The head coach, who was upbeat about replacement prop Finlay Bealham’s head injury assessment, hopes his players can move up gear in the capital in six days’ time.

“I would hope we will be better because we’ll certainly need to be when it gets to playing against a fantastic side in South Africa,” he said.

“But two games under the belt is good for us. Hopefully that rolls on to to another level on the third week.

“This is what World Cups are all about, weeks that are coming against the reigning world champions.

“It doesn’t get any better and one thing’s for sure, you know that the Irish (fans) are going to turn up and enjoy it as well. It’s a fantastic week to look forward to.”

Jonathan Humphreys has predicted “a hell of a game” when Rugby World Cup rivals Wales and Australia go head-to-head in Lyon.

Top spot in Pool C could be on the line next Sunday and Wales know that objective will move closer into view if they topple the Wallabies.

Australia have beaten them in five of their seven previous World Cup meetings, but bonus-point victories over Fiji and Portugal mean that Wales are in decent shape.

“It is going to be a hell of a game – there is going to be a lot riding on that,” Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Humphreys said.

“We have got an eight-day turnaround, so hopefully we will have a full squad to choose from. A few boys have rested up after a tough Fiji game.

“It will be interesting to see how they come out. He (Australia head coach Eddie Jones) has always got something different in his game.

“The players he has available to him right now are a hell of a squad, and we are looking forward to what will be an incredibly tough match.”

Wales, showing 12 changes from the side that defeated Fiji, struggled to impose themselves at times against a Portugal team relishing their first World Cup appearance since 2007.

But ultimately, a 28-8 success – and a bonus point collected in the dying seconds when Taulupe Faletau scored Wales’ fourth try – meant it was a case of job done.

Humphreys added: “We are delighted to get 10 points from the first two games. If you had offered that to us before we came out here we would have taken your hand off.

“There were a lot of boys who hadn’t played for a while – we made a lot of changes. It was great that we got a bonus point, and they’ve also got a fair bit of game-time.

“The first game (against Fiji) was obviously massive for us. As a squad we really came together after that game, saying ‘it’s a good start’.

“The support the team that played against Portugal had from the rest (of the squad) tells us the spirit is there.

“We are in a pretty good place, but we know we need to improve and get better if we are to do the job against Australia.”

Fitness-wise, Wales will need to run the rule over flanker Tommy Reffell and prop Henry Thomas when they arrive back at their training base in Versailles.

Thomas, who has a hamstring issue, is the only player in Wales’ 33-strong World Cup squad not to have been involved against Fiji or Portugal.

Reffell, meanwhile, was due to face Portugal but a tight calf muscle meant he withdrew during final pre-match preparations and Jac Morgan replaced him.

“Tommy is an incredibly tough bloke, but it was the right decision,” Humphreys said.

“He was in agreement with that. If he pulled his calf, he is probably gone for the tournament. It was done as a precaution to make sure that he is not too long out.

“Jac is incredible. He wasn’t due to be involved, and the non-(matchday) 23 (including Morgan) did weights and extra-conditioning in the morning. He is an incredible player.”

Humphreys also highlighted Faletau’s major contribution in only his second start since a calf injury meant he took no part during Wales’ three World Cup warm-up Tests.

“He is a massive player for us,” Humphreys added. “To see him chasing back, make that (try-saving) tackle and get to his feet to go for the ball, he is a huge player and he will get better and better.

“That’s the thing about world-class players, on big moments like that they step up and do something. We are looking forward to seeing what more he can do.”

Lance Stroll has been ruled out of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix following his staggering 110mph qualifying crash.

The Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin through the final left-hander at the Marina Bay Circuit before he slammed into the barrier.

The force of the high-speed impact sent Stroll’s head rocking from side-to-side. He catapulted back across the track and pirouetted to a standstill in the middle of the circuit.

The Aston Martin driver emerged from his wrecked vehicle unaided before being given the all-clear by the on-track medical team.

But Aston Martin said the significant damage sustained to Stroll’s machine, in addition to the 24-year-old still being “sore” from the high-speed shunt, means he will be sidelined from the race.

A statement from the British team read: “Following Lance’s crash in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, Lance and the Aston Martin team have jointly agreed that he will not participate in this evening’s race.

“The team face a huge job repairing the car today and Lance is still sore following such a high impact. Lance’s focus now shifts to fully recovering ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix (on September 24).”

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack added: “The whole team are relieved that Lance was able to step out of the car after yesterday’s accident – however, he is still feeling the after-effects of such a high-impact crash.

“Our priority now is that he makes a full and speedy recovery. Together, we have decided that he will sit out this evening’s race and instead focus fully on returning to the cockpit for next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.”

Stroll was 20th and last at the time of his crash. Fernando Alonso qualified seventh in the other Aston Martin.

Ben Davies hopes Rangers got back on track with their 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The 28-year-old defender made his first start of the season on Saturday after recovering from fitness issues dating back to a hamstring complaint picked up against Aberdeen in May.

Brazilian striker Danilo headed the Light Blues ahead after 16 minutes but had to be immediately substituted along with Saints captain Liam Gordon after both men clashed heads, with the Gers player taken to hospital with a fractured cheekbone.

Substitute Rabbi Matondo added a second in the 79th minute and, after damaging defeats to Celtic and PSV Eindhoven before the international break, the Govan side go into the Europa League opener against Real Betis at Ibrox on Thursday night with renewed confidence.

Davies told RangersTV: “It was good to be back, I felt my fitness – lungs wise – was good and I felt quite strong in the game.

“It was my first 90 minutes since before Aberdeen, so it’s been a long time and I was happy to be out there and involved.

“When I realised I was playing, I was just thinking, ‘Solid performance and clean sheet’. So I was happy that we’ve done that.

“I thought we controlled the game really well, limited them to not much at all. We scored two good goals and could have scored more.

“But it’s a step back in the right direction and the start of hopefully a good run.

“The most important game is always the next one and to bounce back from not a great start (to the season) is crucial to do so at the first opportunity and we’ve done that.

“We sent fans home pretty happy and now we can look forward to playing the next game.

“I’m looking forward to Thursday, under the lights at Ibrox is special, so it’s really important that we find a performance.

“I’ve got a few days now recovering until the next game so hopefully make the most of that and then we can go again.”

St Johnstone are bottom of the table with just two points and no wins in five games, but manager Steven MacLean believes there is better to come from his squad.

The former McDiarmid Park striker said: “I always said we will get better as we go on. We have 11 new signings and we are going to improve.

“There is certainly enough to work with. I was concerned at the start of the season, but the group I have got together now. if we keep working hard and improving we will be fine this season.”

Tottenham match-winner Dejan Kulusevski credited the calmness of head coach Ange Postecoglou for inspiring their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.

Spurs were heading for a first Premier League defeat under the Australian after Gustavo Hamer put the Blades ahead in the 73rd minute.

But the hosts kept their composure and levelled in the eighth minute of stoppage time through Richarlison before Kulusevski rifled home the winner two minutes later to spark jubilant celebrations.

It helped continue the feel-good factor around the club and Swedish attacker Kulusevski paid tribute to his boss following a fourth consecutive league success.

He told SpursPlay: “I was quite calm. In the end I just tried to stay calm, it’s just a game of football.

“When Richy scored, we knew we’re not going to lose and then I got the ball and did my thing. I know I just need to make one good thing to score and that’s what happened.

“We have got to stay calm. You see our coach Ange, he is on the side always being very calm so we have to do that as players.

“Stay calm, trust in each other and play like a family. We can improve a lot.

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“First half we wanted to score too much, we thought we would score a lot of goals, but we have got to stay calm always and wait for the game to come to us.”

Tottenham’s late show ensured Postecoglou kept his lengthy unbeaten home league record, which now stands at 50 matches across spells with Yokohama, Celtic and Spurs.

The 58-year-old has not tasted defeat in a league fixture on home turf in almost three years since Yokohama lost to Kashima in November, 2020.

Postecoglou said: “I do put a big emphasis on that wherever I’ve been because ultimately for your supporters, as much as you enjoy the away wins because you’ve got to earn every one of them, it’s when they come to their home ground that you want to really reward them.

“I’ve been very fortunate that at the last three clubs I’ve had, we’ve had even in Japan 30,000 to 40,000 and at Celtic they’re always sold out and it creates an atmosphere and you can see it helps the team.

“I think that helps you as a club if you’re really strong at home, so yeah it’s something I’m proud of.”

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom was left to reflect on another near-miss after they suffered a third loss of the season due to late goals.

Forward Oli McBurnie was also sent off deep into stoppage-time for a second yellow card, which Heckingbottom insisted was handed out by referee Peter Bankes due to a simple query.

“A centre-back jumps into Wes (Foderingham), turns his back, leads with his elbow, Wes gets stitches and that’s deemed a yellow card,” Heckingbottom said.

“Oli McBurnie goes over to say he’s pulling my shirt – not swearing –  and he gets booked. Deemed the same offence. We’ve got a player missing now.

“(Officials) just do not know what they’re doing and it’s nothing to do with the results.

“Both sets of players are frustrated, both sets of fans are frustrated. Why? Because the people directing the game haven’t got a clue about football. They do not know football.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers are kings of the NL West once again.

Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez all delivered 11th-inning RBIs and the Dodgers outlasted the Seattle Mariners for a 6-2 win Saturday, clinching their 10th division title in the last 11 seasons.

Neither team scored in the game’s first nine innings, but Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 10th on a Kolten Wong sacrifice fly, but Seattle pulled even again on Mike Ford’s RBI single in the bottom half.

Muncy’s single with one out in the 11th plated Mookie Betts and put the Dodgers (90-57) ahead for good. Taylor and Hernandez followed with two-run singles in the inning for extra insurance.

Jason Heyward had three doubles and finished the game 4 of 5 for the Dodgers.

Seven Dodgers pitches combined to hold the M’s to just seven hits, and neither of Seattle’s runs were earned.

The loss dropped the Mariners (81-67) to 1 ½ games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West.

O’s regain AL East lead with win over Rays

Grayson Rodriguez was nearly unhittable for eight innings, Gunnar Henderson hit a three-run home run and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-0 to take a one-game lead in the AL East.

Rodriguez’s start was the longest and perhaps best of his rookie season. It was certainly the most important as the Orioles (92-56) ended a four-game losing streak.

Fellow Baltimore rookie Henderson went 3 of 5 with two runs scored and delivered the game’s only homer in the second inning off Tyler Glasnow.

Aaron Hicks reached base three times and scored twice, and Ramon Urias had two hits and an RBI as the Orioles seek their first division title since 2014.

D-backs win key matchup with Cubs in 13-inning marathon

Gabriel Moreno plated Evan Longoria with a 13th-inning single and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for a 7-6 walk-off win over the Chicago Cubs to tighten the NL wild card race.

After Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s single tied the game in the sixth, Arizona fell behind in the 10th, 11th and 13th innings but battled back each time.

The win lifted the Diamondbacks (78-72) into a tie with the Cincinnati Reds for the final wild card spot in the NL and moved them to within a half-game of the Cubs for the second NL wild card slot.

The Cubs (78-71) dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 2-7 in their last nine.

Saturday’s game was the longest in the majors this season, lasting 4 hours, 24 minutes.

Wales assistant coach Rob Howley was sent home from the World Cup in Japan on this day in 2019 after a breach of betting rules.

The then 48-year-old former Wales captain had been a part of Warren Gatland’s coaching team since 2008 and left Wales’ World Cup squad base in the southern Japanese city of Kitakyushu while an investigation into his betting activities took place.

The Welsh Rugby Union said at the time that Howley had “returned to Wales to assist with an investigation in relation to a potential breach of World Rugby regulation 6, specifically betting on rugby union”.

Howley was sent home six days before Wales’ opening World Cup game against Georgia, a fixture they went on to win 43-14.

In a statement, the WRU said: “The WRU can confirm that Rob Howley has returned to Wales to assist with an investigation in relation to a potential breach of World Rugby regulation 6, specifically betting on rugby union.

“The decision was taken to act immediately in light of recent information passed to the WRU.

“No further details can be provided at this stage as this would prejudice the investigation. If required, an independent panel will be appointed to hear the case.

“Rob has co-operated fully with our initial discussions, and we would ask that the media appreciate this is a difficult and personal matter for Rob and that his privacy is respected before an outcome is reached.

“Warren Gatland has consulted with senior players, and Stephen Jones will be arriving in Japan imminently to link up with the squad as attack coach.”

Following the investigation, Howley was banned from all involvement in rugby for 18 months, nine of which were suspended, with the ban being backdated from the date he returned home from the tournament.

It emerged that Howley was charged with making 364 bets on rugby union over a four-year period, with 24 on games connected to Wales including two upon Wales players scoring tries.

Howley placed a bet on a Wales player to be the first try-scorer in the 25-7 Six Nations victory over Ireland in March 2019, but Howley stated that it was part of a treble bet, adding that it was a part of his normal recreational betting activity.

However, he later admitted that he knew he could not bet on matches involving Wales and that it was a breach of World Rugby anti-corruption and betting regulations.

Following examination of Howley’s electronic devices, including his laptop and phone, “no material was discovered which incriminated Mr Howley to an extent greater than that which he had already admitted”.

Wales reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup before losing 19-16 to eventual champions South Africa.

Johnny Sexton joked his young son will chase down his record after he became Ireland’s all-time leading points scorer in a crushing Rugby World Cup win over Tonga.

Captain Sexton stylishly surpassed former fly-half rival Ronan O’Gara with the fourth of his side’s eight tries in a thumping 59-16 Pool B success in Nantes.

The 38-year-old also kicked a penalty and four conversions en route to moving on to a career total of 1,090 Test points in the green jersey – seven clear of O’Gara’s tally of 1,083 and in 13 fewer appearances.

He gleefully celebrated his landmark score under the posts before suggesting nine-year-old Luca will one day look to eclipse the achievement.

“It’s something when you retire and finish, you can look back and be proud,” said Sexton.

“I think my little boy will be over the moon, he was talking about it during the week and it probably means more to him. He’ll chase it down now! And so will the other 10s.

“It’s there to be broken now and I’m sure some young guys will be eyeing it up.

“Look, I’m very proud to do it, but tonight was more about getting the win and moving onto what’s such a massive game now this week.”