Johnny Sexton (c) celebrates his try as he claimed Ireland's career points-scoring record. -AP
Johnny Sexton has become Ireland's all-time leading points scorer as the Six Nations champions continued their impressive start to the Rugby World Cup with a 59-16 win over a committed Tonga side.
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The top-ranked Irish were given a thorough workout by the physical Tongans ahead of their crunch Pool B matches against South Africa and Scotland but eight tries, two from centre Bundee Aki, got them safely across the line in Nantes on Saturday.
Five eighth Sexton scored his team's fourth try in the 38th minute to surpass Ronan O'Gara's tally of 1083 points and secure a bonus point before leaving his teammates to complete Ireland's 15th straight win.
No.8 Vaea Fifita, one of four former All Blacks in the Tonga side, scored his team's only try just before halftime as Ireland successfully shackled the elite talent in their opponents' backline.Â
