No complacency as Ireland rack up World Cup record win over Romania

Ireland's Rugby World Cup campaign is up and running, although the tougher days are yet to come.

Aside from the opening two minutes in which Andy Farrell’s side gave up a freak, sloppy try, there was a clear gulf between the two teams at a baking hot Stade de Bordeaux, with Ireland scoring 12 tries in a 82-8 hammering of Romania, their highest ever tournament points tally and margin of victory.

Their task in this World Cup opener was simple; get the win wrapped up early, avoid cards and come away with a clean bill of health.

A full medical report will follow in the coming days, but the early indication would be that the Six Nations champions ticked all three of those boxes.

Despite falling 5-0 behind after just two minutes when scrum-half Gabriel Rupanu sprinted in to score a try before many fans had even reached their seats, Ireland dealt comfortably with anything Romania had to offer, replying instantly with a Jamison Gibson-Park try as Hugo Keenan, Tadhg Beirne, Bundee Aki and Johnny Sexton all added further scores before the break to give them a 33-8 half time lead.

There was a brief injury scare for Sexton who grimaced as he scored Ireland’s fifth try, but the fact that he carried on until the 65th minute in a game that was long over was reassuring enough that his hand injury was nothing serious.

It was a positive return for the Ireland captain who scored two tries and seven conversions on his return from six months out. The captain will be frustrated with his own grubber kick in the build-up to Romania’s early try, but it was quickly forgotten as he consistently brought pace to the Irish attack, even in the stifling Bordeaux heat.

Joe McCarthy’s rise continued with a try on his fourth cap, the Leinster second row scoring