Johnny Sexton produced a try-scoring display on his 100th cap as his slick Ireland side dismantled Japan.

The 36-year-old fly-half contributed 16 points as Andrew Conway scored a hat-trick in a brilliant nine-try performance from the hosts in Dublin.

James Lowe and Jamison Gibson Park crossed before the break with Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki and Cian Healy touching down in the second half.

It was a perfect Irish dress rehearsal for next week's visit of New Zealand.

Against the side that derailed their 2019 World Cup campaign with a stunning win, Ireland expected a far tougher test, but Japan barely threw a punch aside from Siosaia Fifita's 57th minute try.

Farrell's vision taking shape

When Andy Farrell took over as head coach his public desire to pursue a more dynamic approach sounded the right note with Ireland fans, but early performances failed to capture the imagination.

In recent matches the tide has started to turn and the free-flowing style that Farrell is seeking has started coming to the fore. Saturday's win, their sixth in a row, was the most complete showing of his reign.

Having packed the front eight with players that are comfortable in the loose with ball in hand, Farrell's side made full use of the pitch and found space out wide for Lowe and Conway to exploit.

Lowe's try after four minutes, a straight sprint for the corner having been put away by Aki and Jack Conan, settled early nerves before Conway's beautiful score after a flowing move from left to right ignited the crowd of roughly 40,000 inside the Aviva Stadium.