Ronan O'Gara believes Johnny Sexton is 'fully deserving' of the Six Nations scoring record after becoming the joint top scorer in history against Scotland.
With 557 points in his Six Nations career, Sexton tied O'Gara's longstanding record which stood since his international retirement a decade ago.
Sexton will have the chance to break the record this Saturday when England travel to the Aviva Stadium for a Grand Slam decider. In his final ever game in the competition before his retirement later this year, O'Gara is backing Sexton to get the score he needs to make the record his own.
READ MORE: Ireland's Grand Slam novices urged by Johnny Sexton to embrace their golden opportunity
"I suppose watching it as a viewer, it reinforces the great times that you had in an Ireland jersey," said O'Gara on Off The Ball.
"557 points in the Six Nations is quite incredible. Johnny will go on to break that this weekend and he is fully deserving of that."
Sexton and O'Gara first crossed paths as fearsome rivals as Leinster and Munster battled it out for top honours, while both men fought tooth and nail for the No.10 Irish shirt.
The relationship has matured since then, with the duo becoming close during their respective spells in Paris. Today, O'Gara speaks with pride as he fondly remembers those times and how far his good friend has come.
"I'm 46, and I am grateful, genuinely, to see someone who started his international career at 24 I think, and then getting better every year.
"Records are there to be broken. I gave it everything when I was playing and I think it's very special to have two Irish people there."
READ NEXT:
Robbie Power column: Honeysuckle winning the Mares' Hurdle would just be incredible
Henry de Bromhead heads to Cheltenham Festival with different outlook following death of son Jack
Cheltenham Festival 2023: Ruby Walsh's A-Z guide for this year's meeting at Prestbury Park
Rachael Blackmore hungry for more success as Cheltenham edges closer
Cheltenham Festival Quiz: Test your knowledge of the famous meeting
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
