Sexton not thinking about points record this weekend

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton has admitted that he is not focused on breaking Ronan O'Gara's points record this weekend ahead of Ireland's game with Tonga this Saturday.

Sexton, who will retire after the conclusion of this World Cup, scored 24 points in the 82-8 win over Romania last weekend and is now nine points short of Munster and Ireland legend O'Gara's 1083 points record.

With all the accolades and honours that Sexton has won, it's understandable if Sexton's lust for individual awards has wavered in recent years.

The former World Rugby Player of the Year admitted that as nice as the honour will be, he's only focused on beating Tonga in Nantes this weekend.

"I don't know; it's not something that comes into my head too often," said Sexton on Thursday.

"Obviously, I was unaware of how close I was after the game last week until I came into the press conference, and so now I'm getting reminded again.

"Look, it will be a very special moment individually, but no one else will really care. None of my teammates are... I won't be making decisions off the back of it.

"I want to win the game; I want to progress further in the competition, and that is the only thing going through my head at the moment."

‘It will be a very special moment, but no-one else will really care’ – Johnny Sexton not distracted by points recordhttps://t.co/TCeljpOejM

— Belfast Telegraph Sport (@BelTel_Sport) September 15, 2023

There had been expectations that Sexton would be rested because of the South Africa test to come the week after, but that was not the case. Sexton has been named as Ireland's starting out-half for the clash against Tonga.

Sexton admits that he just wants to play as much as possible after a 25-break off that consisted of injuries and a ban from World Rugby this year.

"Like, I don't have any say in selection," he added. "I just rock up to training and do my best. Obviously, I want to play; I mean, when you only have a certain amount of games left, of course, you want to play.

"But it's what is right for the team, what is right for different individuals, and that was probably all taken into consideration, but no, I didn't have to do much talking."

Ireland's match against Tonga will kick off at 8:00 pm (9:00 pm local time) on Saturday night. You can watch the game live on ITV (UK) and RTÉ (ROI).