Johnny Sexton delighted to get minutes under his belt in demolition of Romania

The Ireland No 10 says there are bigger tests to come but is satisfied with the start of the campaign.

GOOD START: Jonathan Sexton of Ireland celebrates after the game at Stade de Bordeaux. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Ireland's talisman Johnny Sexton says there's plenty for Ireland to work on after their 82-point display in Bordeaux on Saturday afternoon. 

But the No 10 admits he's delighted to make his return to action after an enforced lay-off.

"We're delighted obviously with the result and to get a points difference like that," Sexton told Virgin Media after the tournament opening win. 

"It was a tough game at the start especially with Romania being very physical. They certainly didn't let themselves down in that regard. 

"When you get a crowd like this it's fantastic. I was telling the boys all week that we'll fill out the stadium and thankfully the supporters didn't make a liar of me. These are unbelievable days for the supporters so I want to say thank you very much to them and I hope this performance gave them something to cheer about.

"There's loads of stuff individually that I didn't get right myself. You know when you're here in the heat of battle, you know you can train all you want but until you're in a proper match you're not being tested properly. 

"I was just delighted to get some minutes under my belt and we know that there's some tougher tasks coming on Saturday against Tonga and then the other two games against Scotland and South Africa."

When asked about becoming Ireland's oldest ever player, Sexton responded in a typically modest fashion: "I took it off Rory Best, I'm sure he won't let me forget about it anyway. 

"Age is just a number isn't it? Look, I'm just delighted to be back, you've put me on the spot here, to get to experience something like this, it's been a long time out and I'm happy to be back".