Match Centre: Ireland 60-5 Japan

Ireland 60-5 Japan, Aviva Stadium

Johnny Sexton celebrated his 100th Test for Ireland with a 16-point contribution as his side went on to thrash Japan 60-5 in the Autumn Nations Series opener at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The result also meant Ireland now have won six successive games including a 39-31 victory over the Brave Blossoms in July.

Andy Farrell's men had a stunning 29-0 lead at the end of the opening half and went on to add another 31 points after the break with Andrew Conway going on to complete a hat-trick.

Ireland took just five minutes to score the opening try as James Lowe dived in the left corner and Sexton kicked the conversion to make it 7-0. The home side doubled their tally in the 10th minute with Jamison Gibson-Park set up Conway over the line and once again Sexton was spot on with the conversion.

Nine minutes later Conway completed his second following a quick cross-field ball at the back of a rolling maul. Sexton missed out on the conversion but made amends with a penalty goal in the 23rd minute as the hosts raced to a 22-0 lead.

Just over the half-hour mark, Gibson-Park claimed his first try for Ireland after collecting on a pass from Garry Ringrose and Sexton was spot on with the conversion as Ireland scored 29 unanswered points in the opening half.

Ireland looked relentless and extended their momentum into the second half with this time Sexton grabbed on an offload from Gibson-Park to dot down and also kicked the conversion as they raced to a 36-0 lead.

Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong pressed the next attack from Ireland as they went right to the pitch and eventually it was Bundee Aki's turn to score in the 54th minute extending Ireland's lead to 41-0.

The only response from Japan came in the 57th minute with Siosaia Fifita scoring in the 57th minute but they could not add any more to the tally for the remainder of the game.

Ireland's seventh try came in the 69th minute with Ringrose dived from close range before Conway sealed his hat-trick try in the 74th minute taking their tally past the 50-point mark. In the 80th minute, Cian Healy powered under the posts and Joey Carbery kicked the conversion as Andy Farrell's men kick-started their campaign with a 60-5 victory.