Never in doubt.

Ireland got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to the perfect start yesterday with an opening-round win over Romania and made a bit of history along the way.

Their 82-8 win is their biggest-ever recorded World Cup victory, with Andy Farrell’s side running in no less than 12 tries against a Romanian side who had initially opened the scoring inside two minutes.

The game also marked the long-awaited return of captain Johnny Sexton, who was back after nearly six months out through injury and suspension.

And what a comeback it was.

Sexton put in a commanding performance and showed no signs of ever being out in the first place, bagging two tries for himself and creating several more, in a 65-minute outing for the playmaker.

Speaking on ITV after the win, former teammate and Ireland legend, Brian O’Driscoll, couldn’t speak highly enough about Sexton.

“Unbelievably impressive,” O’Driscoll told ITV Sport

“He just continues to constantly shine. When any element of doubt creeps into people’s minds he shoots it down immediately.”

O’Driscoll particularly highlighted Sexton’s decision-making and also praised Ireland’s relentlessness.

“He is anticipating line breaks, he never shirks the defensive side of his game, he was taking the ball aggressively to the line, clearing out rucks in places you don’t want to see your 10 more often than not,” O’Driscoll added.

“The great thing with Johnny is he picks the right option more often than not. When you have two or three options, defences can’t cover them all. So if you pick the right one, you will get people into holes to pick up scores from it.

“The relentlessness and ruthlessness of Ireland was really impressive. Considering they are all a little undercooked with their warm-up games, this added to their fitness levels, to their confidence, and their momentum. It sets them up nice for the rest of the pool.”