Johnny Sexton jokes his young son will aim for his points record in Ireland

Johnny Sexton has joked that his young son will continue his record after becoming Ireland’s all-time leading scorer in a crushing Rugby World Cup victory over Tonga.

Captain Sexton outplayed his old rival Ronan O’Gara in style with the fourth of his side’s eight tries in a thumping 59-16 Pool B victory in Nantes.

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

He happily celebrated his historic score under the posts before suggesting nine-year-old Luca will one day look to eclipse that feat.

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

“I think my little boy will be over the moon, he’s been talking about it during the week and it probably means more to him. He’s going to sue him now! And the other 10 too.

“It’s there to be broken now and I’m sure some young people will pay attention to it.

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