NANTES, France (Reuters) – Johnny Sexton crossed for a try to become Ireland’s all-time leading points scorer in the first half of the Six Nations champions’ World Cup Pool B clash against Tonga on Saturday.

Having matched Ronan O’Gara’s tally of 1,083 points with a penalty and conversions of tries by Caelan Doris, Tadhg Beirne and Mack Hansen, Sexton skipped across the line under the posts in the 38th minute to make the record his own.

The 38-year-old flyhalf, who has won 114 Ireland caps since making his debut in 2009, is also the highest points scorer in the Six Nations with 566 points, having surpassed O’Gara’s tally this year.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)

Brought to you by www.srnnews.com