Courtney Lawes insisted England are beginning to show their teeth in attack after they posted a bonus-point victory over Japan in their World Cup clash at the Stade de Nice.

England defied greasy conditions caused by the high humidity to emerge 34-12 winners, a messy and occasionally bewildering victory placing them in full control of Pool D.

A barrage of kicking in the first-half gave way to three tries being added when the match opened up, including Lawes’ comical try which he touched down after the ball had struck Joe Marler’s head.

“It was quite a lucky try but I’ll take them how they come. It was a good bit of luck for us and in these conditions, you take what you’re given,” Lawes said.

“I saw it ricochet off Joe’s head so I went to score the try just in case, but I was pretty sure that it had gone backwards and then come off his head. I had a good idea that it was going to be given.

“The conditions were tough. Even when you’ve got a good grasp of the ball you’d go into contact and you could feel it almost spinning out of your hands, sometimes even before you’ve made contact.

“It’s actually really challenging at the moment because it’s just so greasy. It’s hot and humid and you’re already really sweaty. It pretty much makes it like a wet weather game out there.

“We showed glimpses of how good our attack can be and we’ll continue to work on it.

“We’re getting better every day and that’s the main thing – that we’re taking steps forward.

“Come later on in the competition we’ll hope that we’re firing on all cylinders.”

England were booed by their own fans during the early stages of the second-half in response to the sheer volume of their kicking, which was eventually replaced by all out assault on the Japan line.

“The players did tremendously well,” said head coach Steve Borthwick, who revealed that Ben Earl suffered a dead leg.

“That was a really tough Test against a really well coached Japanese side who clearly came with a tactical plan and who play the game differently to anyone else in the world.”

Japan head coach Jamie Joseph admitted the Brave Blossoms paid the price for failing to show more ruthlessness in attack.

“We put them under a lot of pressure and we created opportunities but we didn’t take them because we made too many mistakes. That’s Test rugby,” Joseph said.

“England are an experienced Test side and over time they wore us down. That’s the nature of the game at the highest level.

“It’s disappointing for us because we put a lot of emotion into this week, but we’ll take the learnings from it.

“I was happy with the intensity but we just made too many mistakes when we were under the pump. The players are hurting but that’s footy.”

England continued their advance towards the World Cup quarter-finals by toppling Japan 34-12 but a messy performance that came alive in the the second half will have done little to worry the tournament’s heavyweights.

Lewis Ludlam, Courtney Lawes, Freddie Steward and Joe Marchant touched down and it was only when their full-back had collected a George Ford chip and stormed over in the 67th minute that they looked comfortable.

Lawes’ try came after the ball had taken a comical bounce off Joe Marler’s head and while England celebrated their first World Cup tries since their 2019 semi-final victory over New Zealand, a madcap evening in Nice posed fresh questions.

Early in the second half they were booed by their own fans as they continued to kick the ball away at every opportunity, only to then throw the kitchen sink at enterprising opponents ranked 14th in the world.

The ambition paid off and with Ben Earl and Steward propelling them forward as well as impetus coming from Marcus Smith’s arrival off the bench, they stormed out of sight.

After routing Argentina 27-14 with 14 men in their Pool D opener, they at least avoided a potential banana skin and with fixtures against Chile and Samoa to come, they are destined to reach the last eight.

The ball squirted around unpredictably because of the humidity and while Japan produced the more glaring mistakes in the first half – including one costly line-out blunder – they also adapted better in attack.

It took England half an hour to fire their first shots, launching Manu Tuilagi in midfield and Earl into the wall of red and white shirts, but until then they had displayed little endeavour.

Half-backs Ford, who booted 14 points, and Alex Mitchell seemed content to continuously kick the ball away, perhaps convinced that the greasy conditions meant it was wiser to wait for Japan to make a mistake.

That is exactly what happened in the 25th minute when Ford steered a clever chip into the left corner and the underdogs botched the line-out, enabling Ludlam to pounce from short range.

All the ambition was being shown by Japan as they strung phases together, mixing up a handful of kicks with slick passing and cute running lines, although at times they were guilty of playing too much.

Full-back Semisi Masirewa had been lost to an innocuous injury in the eighth minute but with Rikiya Matsuda kicking three penalties, they trailed just 13-9 at the interval.

The second half started at a ferocious pace, but the ball continued to slip out of the hands of players from both sides.

England’s first instinct remained to kick, with Mitchell drawing boos when he booted the ball dead, but they were at least pinning Japan back in their own half and showing signs of building momentum.

Tension mounted as the Brave Blossoms escaped their own territory and claimed three more points from Matsuda, but when Earl went tearing down the right wing and the ball was recycled for Lawes to collect and score, their chances seemed to be fading.

Play swung from end to end and suddenly England were scrambling furiously, but Japan missed their chance and were made to pay when Steward caught Ford’s kick and strolled over. Marchant delivered the final blow in the closing moments.

Wales star Louis Rees-Zammit kept his promise to friends and fellow Manchester United fans with a Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration against Portugal.

Rees-Zammit’s second try at the Rugby World Cup was followed by him impersonating Portugal international and former United player Ronaldo’s so-called ‘Siuuu’ move where he jumps and turns in the air, his back to the crowd when landing.

“Ronaldo is my favourite player,” Rees-Zammit said.

“I wear his boxers and I dress like him. And I thought ‘why not do his celebration as well’?

“A few of my mates back home wanted me to do it. They are massive football fans, and obviously we don’t play Portugal very often.

“So I said if I scored I would do it for them. But I don’t want to talk about the Man United result (a 3-1 home defeat to Brighton).”

Wales’ attention now turns to a pivotal Pool C clash against Australia in Lyon next weekend.

They headed back to their Versailles training base from the French Riviera on Sunday following successive bonus-point victories over Fiji and Portugal.

Those results have put them in sight of a fourth successive World Cup quarter-final appearance, with the Wallabies game being followed by Georgia in Nantes 13 days later.

Rees-Zammit added: “That is 10 points, and we are absolutely buzzing about that.

“It wasn’t our greatest game again, but we know we have got a lot to learn. Going up against Australia we’ve got to step up a gear again.

“When you don’t get perfect wins there is always a lot to improve on. That’s great.

“We need that progress, and we have eight days until the next game, so we will have a good training week and hopefully be ready for Australia.”

Matt Fagerson revealed how he and brother Zander got to spend a “special” day with their devoted parents last week as they savoured the first time they had both played for Scotland in the same match at a World Cup.

The siblings featured in last Sunday’s 18-3 defeat by South Africa in Marseille.

Prop Zander, who had played at the previous World Cup, was on for the first 55 minutes at Stade Velodrome and back-rower Matt, who missed out on selection for the 2019 showpiece in Japan, was introduced from the bench in the 64th minute.

Although the result did not go as planned, the match held obvious sentimental value for the Fagerson family, and the brothers – two of five siblings – got to reflect on it with their parents Gwendolyn and Jonathan as the team were given some down time at the start of last week following the Boks showdown.

“It was amazing, our parents came through to Antibes (near the team’s World Cup base in the south of France) and me and Zander spent the day with them,” Matt told the PA news agency.

“It was really nice. We went for ice cream, had some food, went to the beach. They’re a huge part of why we do what we do and it was really special to have them out here and spend that time with them.

“We’re a very sporty family. Our little sister is in the Scotland hockey squad, one of our brothers ran a marathon the other day and our other brother is a DJ so everybody’s pretty busy at the moment.

“Our parents are incredibly proud of us and to be able to spend a couple of days with them out here was really special.”

At this time four years ago, Matt was at home, effectively on standby, after agonisingly missing out on selection for the squad.

The Glasgow back-rower has a good idea, therefore, of the range of emotions hooker Stuart McInally will have gone through after finding himself in a similar position over the past month before getting the call to join the squad on Wednesday after Dave Cherry withdrew with concussion after he banged his head when slipping on the stairs at the team hotel last Monday.

“We’re all gutted for Dave,” said Fagerson. “It was a terrible accident that happened and we’re all behind him but Rambo (McInally) was unfortunate not to make the squad in the first place. We have some quality hookers but Rambo’s a quality player and we’re stoked to have him back in the squad.

“In 2019, I had about a week to get over it and then I was back in with the Glasgow boys doing pre-season.

“The message to all the boys in that situation is to keep fit because things like this happen, injuries happen.

“It needs the whole squad buy-in. Injuries happen in our sport so everyone should try to stay fit because if you get the call to come out you have to make the most of it and integrate back into the team.

“Rambo has come back in great shape, he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“It’s definitely a weird old time for him. It was obviously really tough for him when he didn’t make the squad and he had to get over that but it’s a fairytale that he gets to come out here and hopefully get that 50th cap (he is currently on 49).”

After losing to South Africa, Scotland know they must win all three of their remaining pool matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland. They will probably require bonus points from their next two outings to give themselves an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals when they go into their October showdown with the Irish in Paris.

“We’ve got an uphill battle now but we’ve got a lot of belief in the squad so we’re looking forward to it,” said Fagerson.

“We’re going to have to put our best foot forward against Tonga on Sunday and then hopefully get a big finish against Ireland.

“If you start looking for bonus points too early in a game you can sometimes miss the beat in the first half but I think we will probably need bonus points so we’ll be looking to up the scoreline.

“We’re just focusing on Tonga just now and trying to start the game really well.”

Matt Fagerson revealed how he and brother Zander got to spend a “special” day with their devoted parents last week as they savoured the first time they had both played for Scotland in the same match at a World Cup.

The siblings featured in last Sunday’s 18-3 defeat by South Africa in Marseille.

Prop Zander, who had played at the previous World Cup, was on for the first 55 minutes at Stade Velodrome and back-rower Matt, who missed out on selection for the 2019 showpiece in Japan, was introduced from the bench in the 64th minute.

Although the result did not go as planned, the match held obvious sentimental value for the Fagerson family, and the brothers – two of five siblings – got to savour it with their parents Gwendolyn and Jonathan as the team were given some down time at the start of last week.

“It was amazing, our parents came through to Antibes (near the team’s World Cup base in the south of France) and me and Zander spent the day with them,” Matt told the PA news agency.

“It was really nice. We went for ice cream, had some food, went to the beach. They’re a huge part of why we do what we do and it was really special to have them out here and spend that time with them.

“We’re a very sporty family. Our little sister is in the Scotland hockey squad, one of our brothers ran a marathon the other day and our other brother is a DJ so everybody’s pretty busy at the moment.

“Our parents are incredibly proud of us and to be able to spend a couple of days with them out here was really special.”

At this time four years ago, Matt was at home, effectively on standby, after agonisingly missing out on selection for the squad.

The Glasgow back-rower has a good idea, therefore, of the range of emotions hooker Stuart McInally will have gone through after finding himself in a similar position over the past month before getting the call to join the squad on Wednesday after Dave Cherry withdrew with concussion after he banged his head when slipping on the stairs at the team hotel last Monday.

“We’re all gutted for Dave,” said Fagerson. “It was a terrible accident that happened and we’re all behind him but Rambo (McInally) was unfortunate not to make the squad in the first place. We have some quality hookers but Rambo’s a quality player and we’re stoked to have him back in the squad.

“In 2019, I had about a week to get over it and then I was back in with the Glasgow boys doing pre-season.

“The message to all the boys in that situation is to keep fit because things like this happen, injuries happen.

“It needs the whole squad buy-in. Injuries happen in our sport so everyone should try to stay fit because if you get the call to come out you have to make the most of it and integrate back into the team.

“Rambo has come back in great shape, he’s ready to hit the ground running.

“It’s definitely a weird old time for him. It was obviously really tough for him when he didn’t make the squad and he had to get over that but it’s a fairytale that he gets to come out here and hopefully get that 50th cap (he is currently on 49).”

After losing to South Africa, Scotland know they must win all three of their remaining pool matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland. They will probably require bonus points from their next two outings to give themselves an opportunity to qualify for the quarter-finals when they go into their October showdown with the Irish in Paris.

“We’ve got an uphill battle now but we’ve got a lot of belief in the squad so we’re looking forward to it,” said Fagerson.

“We’re going to have to put our best foot forward against Tonga on Sunday and then hopefully get a big finish against Ireland.

“If you start looking for bonus points too early in a game you can sometimes miss the beat in the first half but I think we will probably need bonus points so we’ll be looking to up the scoreline.

“We’re just focusing on Tonga just now and trying to start the game really well.”

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.”

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.”

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 on to what’s such a massive game now this week.”

Ireland edged a step closer to the quarter-finals with a second successive bonus-point win on the back of last weekend’s 82-8 demolition of Romania.

Tries from Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris and Mack Hansen paved the way to victory, with Bundee Aki’s double and second-half scores from James Lowe and Rob Herring capping Sexton’s landmark moment.

Sexton was withdrawn at half-time with next weekend’s pivotal Paris showdown against champions South Africa in mind.

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The world’s top-ranked nation emerged relatively unscathed from a bruising encounter at Stade de la Beaujoire, albeit replacement prop Finlay Bealham was forced off for a head injury assessment.

Head coach Andy Farrell made a dressing room speech to congratulate Sexton and says his skipper is far more than a “points-scoring machine”.

“It’s so fitting that he broke the record with a try like that,” said Farrell

“But what I would say, and I’ve said to Johnny in front of the lads in there, he can talk for himself, but the record is fantastic.

“He’d say that’s his job but it takes some doing.

“To us, as a leader, as a player, he’s a lot more than a points-scoring machine for Ireland, how he prepares his team and gets them up for every single game is more important to him and certainly to us.”

Speaking of the withdrawn Bealham, Farrell said: “Finlay’s in great spirits so he’ll go through the protocols tomorrow.

“But looking at him and speaking to the medics, they’re pretty happy with where he’s at, obviously with all the protocols, probably.”

Vaea Fifita crossed just before half-time to give Tonga brief hope in the aftermath of Peter O’Mahony’s yellow card, while William Havili kicked 11 points.

Tonga head coach Toutai Kefu conceded his team were ultimately outclassed.

“I don’t think they’re a 60-point team better than us,” he said.

“We were our worst enemy, we made some poor execution mistakes and some poor decisions, which probably inflated the score more than we would have liked.

“But you lose by 10, you lose by 50, you still lose.

“They pressured us in the air, on the ground. They’re a really complete team, a high-quality team, it’s why they’re number one in the world, so tonight too good for us.”

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.”

Johnny Sexton smashed Ireland’s individual points record as his side edged closer to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a crushing 59-16 bonus-point victory over Tonga in Nantes.

The influential fly-half surpassed Ronan O’Gara’s all-time tally of 1,083 in style with the fourth of his side’s eight tries on a balmy evening at Stade de la Beaujoire.

Captain Sexton also kicked a penalty and four conversions en route to moving on to a career total of 1,090 before being withdrawn from a bruising Pool B encounter at half-time ahead of next week’s crucial clash with South Africa.

Tries from Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris and Mack Hansen paved the way to victory, with Bundee Aki’s double and second-half scores from James Lowe and Rob Herring capping Sexton’s landmark moment.

Vaea Fifita crossed just before half-time to give Tonga hope in the aftermath of Peter O’Mahony’s yellow card, while William Havili contributed three penalties and a conversion.

But the world’s top-ranked nation comfortably maintained their 100 per cent start to the tournament and emerged relatively unscathed moving towards pivotal Paris appointments with the Springboks and Scotland.

Despite the looming threat of the reigning world champions, head coach Andy Farrell named an extremely strong starting XV showing just four personnel changes from last weekend’s thumping 12-try triumph over Romania.

His side, unfamiliar in white shirts, were once again heavily backed on the terraces and met Tonga’s Sipi Tau by taking a collective step forwards.

Sexton slotted an early penalty to increase the volume, but Havili landed a long-range reply to level before Ireland were frustrated to have an Andrew Porter try disallowed for a knock-on by Hansen.

The disappointment proved to be fleeting as Farrell’s men remained on the front foot, culminating in Beirne collecting Doris’ pass and touching down under the posts for his third score of the tournament.

Havili landed another audacious penalty from close to halfway to cut Tonga’s deficit, but their hopes of a first win over the Six Nations champions were swiftly reduced by costly indiscipline.

Lowe was clattered in his own 22 by opposing wing Solomone Kata, gifting Ireland a penalty at the other end of the field from which Doris powered over.

Hansen – one of four men recalled by Farrell – then superbly danced through the opposition defence wide on the right to stretch the scoreboard, leading to Sexton equalling O’Gara’s previous national record.

Sexton overtook his former fly-half rival in memorable fashion to secure the bonus point.

The evergreen 38-year-old rolled back the years by effortlessly slipping through Tonga’s defence to touch down and then celebrated jubilantly with fans seated behind the posts, before regaining his composure to add a simple conversion.

Ireland were threatening to blitz the stunned underdogs.

Yet Tonga roared back and, during a series of penalties close to the Irish line, O’Mahony was sin-binned before former All Black Fifita shrugged off an early injury issue to power over.

Ireland changed their entire front row at the break, while wrapping Sexton in cotton wool.

Yet replacement tighthead prop Finlay Bealham departed for a head injury assessment after Havili kicked his third penalty of the evening, requiring the swift return of Tahdg Furlong, before substitute hooker Herring had a try chalked off on review.

Lowe eventually claimed Ireland’s fifth and official man-on-the-match Aki then propelled himself to the top of the tournament’s embryonic try-scoring charts with a quick-fire brace, both converted by Sexton’s replacement Ross Byrne.

Ireland were relatively untroubled in the second period and Herring sealed another statement win – a 15th in succession overall – ahead of two critical fixtures in the French capital.

George Ford has been working with Jonny Wilkinson to turn the drop-goal into a weapon at the World Cup.

Ford landed three as England opened the tournament with a 27-10 rout of Argentina in Marseille last Saturday and is ready to continue using them if the opportunity arises.

To assist with the tactic, the Sale fly-half has been perfecting his technique with Wilkinson, who famously landed the drop-goal that enabled England to lift the World Cup in 2003.

“Jonny’s big thing is don’t worry about the posts,” said Ford, who continues in the number 10 jersey for Sunday’s showdown with Japan in Nice.

“Obviously you need to know where they are, but the only thing you can control is what you do in terms of how you place the ball and what you do with your body.

“Jonny said you can have the ugliest drop in the world but if you get your body right and the ball is in the slot, and you get the momentum of your body towards the target, you can do it.

“How many drop goals do you see that flap over? A lot of kickers say if you speak to kids growing up they are constantly looking at the posts as if they are going move to make the ball go over.

“The drop-goal has probably been underused. You watch Jonny’s era in 2003 and 2007 and the influence drop-goals had on the game then was enormous.

“Maybe the game has tipped the balance the other side of the spectrum where everyone thinks you need to score tries every two minutes, but you need a variety of ways of scoring.

“We had spoken quite a bit about them in pre-season and how big they can be, especially at World Cups. They can be really effective and hopefully we can show that again.”

In training, Ford competes with fellow playmakers Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith to see how many drop-goals they can kick – under the watchful eye of rugby league great Kevin Sinfield, who is now England’s defence coach.

“It is interesting speaking to Kev because in rugby league you might not see as many drop-goals because it is only worth one point,” Ford said.

“But he said as soon as play-off games came around, how much they practised went through the roof because they knew they would need a couple in a semi or a final, so we are doing this thing at the minute where we kick until we miss.

“Obviously if you don’t kick many before you miss you might go again, but there is a fair bit of competition and pressure between myself, Owen and Marcus when we are doing it.

“We are bringing lads over to come and put pressure on us, because we are not daft, you are not in armchair. You need to make it as realistic as possible.”

Wales boss Warren Gatland declared it a case of “job done” by beating Portugal 28-8 at Stade de Nice and taking another step toward the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

It was not pretty at times, and Wales only claimed the bonus-point try they coveted when number eight Taulupe Faletau scored in the dying seconds, but Gatland’s team now have 10 points from 10 in Pool C.

“If someone said you would have 10 points from the first two games, we would have been pretty happy with that,” Wales head coach Gatland said.

“Look, there were aspects of today where we probably tried to play a little too much rugby early on and didn’t play a bit more territory and be a bit more direct.

“But some of those players haven’t had a lot of rugby. I just said to them in the changing room, ‘job done’. We’ve got the five points.

“They had thrown everything at us in those first 20 minutes. They probably didn’t have the same opportunities in the second half in terms of putting us under that sort of pressure.

“When we ran hard and won those collision, that is when we looked dangerous. Probably at times we were a little bit lateral.

“It’s good we have given everyone in the squad an opportunity and some rugby. We have a little bit more time in terms of preparation before Australia and we can start looking forward to that game.”

Gatland confirmed flanker Tommy Reffell was suffering from a tight calf muscle that saw him pulled out of the starting line-up just minutes before kick-off, with Jac Morgan called up.

“Tommy said his calf was a bit tight,” Gatland added.

“I think he was still quite keen to take the field, but if he pulled that calf, that would have been his World Cup over.

“To put Jac in as a straight replacement with very limited preparation, I thought he was good.”

Gatland’s much-changed side struggled throughout for control and fluency in the contest, the highlight of which was Portugal’s attacking flair.

Wing Louis Rees-Zammit, captain Dewi Lake, Morgan and Faletau scored tries, while Leigh Halfpenny kicked three conversions and Sam Costelow landed one, yet a vast improvement will be required against Australia in Lyon next weekend.

Portugal gave as good as they got for large parts of the game and they undoubtedly deserved more than flanker Nicolas Martins’ try and a Samuel Marques penalty.

Their exciting back division stretched Wales’ defence in all directions, although wing Vincent Pinto blotted the copybook when he was red-carded late in the game following a bunker review after his boot caught Josh Adams in the face.

Asked if he was surprised by Portugal’s physicality, Lake said: “No, I don’t think we were surprised as we had done our homework on the team that we were facing.

“We understood what they were going to bring to the table from a physicality standpoint. Gats spoke in the week about them being a mini-Fiji in terms of an off-load game.

“They’ve got players who want to snipe and want to run. In terms of physicality, we won that battle over 80 minutes.”

Portugal lost 102-11 when they last played Wales in 1994, although captain Tomas Appleton struggled to mask his disappointment at the latest outcome.

“We really wanted to win this game. We really worked hard for that,” Appleton said.

“We lost many areas of the game, we didn’t have a solid scrum, we made mistakes in the backs and when we are playing at this level we get penalised and we suffer with those mistakes.

“We couldn’t quite show the rugby that we have, the good level of fast rugby we can play, and at the end of the day we are frustrated.

“We are not here to just be a presence, we are here to compete and win. When you are playing at this level you have to be cool-headed, and I think a lot of times we made bad decisions.”

Wales took another step towards the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, but they were given a fierce examination by minnows Portugal before winning 28-8 at Stade de Nice.

Warren Gatland’s much-changed team struggled throughout for control and fluency in the Pool C contest, the highlight of which was Portugal’s attacking flair.

Wales started with only three survivors from the side that defeated Fiji last weekend, and their latest performance was a world away from what they delivered in Bordeaux six days ago.

Wing Louis Rees-Zammit, captain Dewi Lake, flanker Jac Morgan and number eight Taulupe Faletau scored tries, while Leigh Halfpenny kicked three conversions and Sam Costelow landed one, yet a vast improvement will be required against Australia in Lyon next weekend.

Portugal gave as good as they got for large parts of the game, and they undoubtedly deserved more than flanker Nicolas Martin’s try and a Samuel Marques penalty, with Wales not collecting a bonus point until the dying seconds.

Their exciting back division stretched Wales’ defence in all directions, although wing Vincent Pinto blotted the copybook when he was red-carded late in the game following a bunker review after his boot caught Josh Adams in the face.

Wales suffered an injury blow shortly before kick-off when flanker Tommy Reffell withdrew from the starting line-up and was replaced by Morgan.

Portugal, playing their first World Cup game for 16 years, were captained by centre Tomas Appleton and under the coaching direction of former France international wing Patrice Lagisquet.

Marques missed a golden chance to put his team in front when he sent a short-range penalty wide, and Wales went ahead through a ninth-minute try that saw an impressive finish from Rees-Zammit, who then performed a Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration.

Halfpenny converted, but Portugal showed plenty of adventure in attack and Faletau pulled off a try-saving tackle that preserved Wales’ 7-0 lead after 17 minutes.

It was an impressive effort by the underdogs as their eagerness to move possession wide and at pace tested Wales’ defence.

Wales made errors when they got within sight of Portugal’s line, and an element of frustration was underlined when Johnny Williams received a yellow card following a technical infringement.

It was an outstanding first-half display by Portugal, who were beaten 102-11 on their only previous meeting with Wales in a World Cup qualifier 29 years ago.

Wales just could not get going, compounding their situation through poor work in the contact area, and Marques kicked a penalty three minutes before the break.

Williams then had a try disallowed after he failed to ground the ball, only for Lake to power over from close range, with Halfpenny’s conversion making it 14-3 at the interval.

Wales began the second period by losing two attacking lineouts in quick succession inside Portugal’s 22 and Gatland soon turned to his replacements’ bench, sending on Ryan Elias, Corey Domachowski, Tomas Francis and Adam Beard.

Back-row forward Taine Basham soon followed them into the action and Wales claimed a third try after 56 minutes when Morgan crossed from close range and Halfpenny added the extras.

Portugal deservedly claimed a try midway through the second half when clever lineout work produced a try for Martins. Marques’ touchline conversion attempt hit a post and it was a warning sign to Wales that their opponents had no intention of going quietly.

The closing stages were all about whether or not Wales could secure a bonus point, and they thought they had it when scrum-half Gareth Davies crossed, only to see it disallowed for midfield obstruction.

That summed up Wales’ day, but, after Pinto was dismissed, Faletau scored in the game’s final play and Costelow converted.