Twelve Try Ireland Off To Winning Start At Rugby World Cup

Jonathan Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne scored twice each to add to scores from Rob Herring, Hugo Keenan, Jamision Gibson Park and Joe McCarthy saw Ireland record their second largest winning margin (74 points) in Test match history.

Ireland 82 Romania 8 – As It Happened

The 82-8 win was built in sweltering heat and despite an early stutter on 2 minutes as Romania secured the opening score of the game. Ireland bounced back with five tries to lead 33-8 at half time and continued to work hard in the 2nd half adding seven more tries.

Ireland captain Sexton, who made a welcome return to the green jersey, received a standing ovation as he was replaced on 65 minutes. The skipper who added seven penalties to his brace of tries for a total of 24 points, spoke about the support after the match, “These are unbelievable days they give us, the supporters. From us, thank you very much, and we hope we gave them something to cheer about.”