Ireland sounded a loud and clear warning to South Africa that they will be entering the veritable lion's den in Dublin next Saturday.

In scoring a comprehensive 41-6 victory over a game but outclassed Fiji, Ireland took their unbeaten run to 10 consecutive games since November last year.

They scored five tries against a valiant Fiji defence which strove desperately to plug the gaps but were outgunned by the attacking skills of the Irish.

This was by no means a perfect performance by the home side but they showed they have the team organisation, the individual and unit skills, and the tactical nous to play with confidence against any team in the world.

Declan Kidney's toughest immediate problem will be selection, since a number of the squad left out against Australia but given the opportunity to show their abilities this week, did enough to put pressure on Kidney for inclusion against the Springboks.

Gordon D'Arcy, Keith Earls and Eoin Reddan all did enough to warrant serious consideration for starting spots against the Springboks, and the star of the show was debutant number 10 Jonathan Sexton.

There will be much debate in Ireland as to how long Ronan O'Gara will keep him out of the Test starting line-up. The 24-year-old Sexton has the hands, the feet, and the decision-making acumen to make the impression on the international stage that he did in the Heineken Cup earlier this year. And goaling seven kicks out of seven on a wet surface, including those from either touchline, was impressive indeed.

Others who will have been particularly happy with their performances would be Brian O'Driscoll, who was his masterful, creative self, Rob Kearney, a force on defence and attack, and loose forwards Jamie Heaslip and Stephen Ferris, both of whom were exemplary in their workrate.

Ireland would have some concern about their scrummaging, which was too inconsistent, ranging from poor to potent. For the rest they will have been happy with much of their display.

Fiji played with admirable vigour but in the end were outclassed. To compete against the top tier rugby nations they will need all their top players released by all clubs on an ongoing basis for training camps as well as the Test matches themselves in order to give the coaching panel comprising Glen Ella and assistants Mike Brewer and Sam Domoni time to build a competitive team.

Tighthead Viliame Seuseu and flank Apolosi Satala would get full marks for their effort and endeavour and Gloucester flank Akapusi Qera was the epitome of passion and his workrate was superb, but with the restrictions on their selection and preparation, Fiji will always battle in their big games.

The heavy rain predicted for the match threatened to turn into a deluge as the players lined up for the national anthems and it appeared that both teams' intentions to play a more attacking pattern than they had last week, would have to be abandoned.

Happily the rain abated for a while after the first quarter but the wet surface was never going to encourage the expansive rugby more feasible on dry fields and the rain came down again late in the second half.

For all that, Ireland will have been happy with the ball they were able to spread wide in the difficult conditions.

Sexton started his international career on a high note by making an immediate positive impression in the first minute with a daring, incisive counter-attacking run from deep.

In the 8th minute a probing attacking grubber from Nicky Little was fielded by Rob Kearney inside the Irish 22. Kearney kicked long, over the heads of the advancing Fiji backs, transferring play deep into the Fiji half.

From the attacking line-out Qera was penalised for failing to release the tackled player on the ground and Sexton scored his first points for Ireland with a close-range penalty goal. (3-0)

The first substantial threat on either tryline came in the 15th minute when a superbly executed cross kick by Sexton was caught out of the air close to the touchline by Earls but Ireland weren't able to finish.

In the 19th minute Ireland extended their lead to 10-0 when from an attacking scrum on the left, Sexton ran towards his right, Brian O'Driscoll drew defenders by drifting left as a decoy and Earls raced in from the left wing to score under the posts without a defender close. Sexton converted.

After Saturday's last movement try to salvage a draw against Australia, this was Ireland's second in a row from a planned backline move from a set piece ? gratifying for the coaching staff.

The heavy rain of the first quarter became less of a factor and Fiji took advantage of the easier conditions to pull back three points after 27 minutes. When Eoin Reddan was penalised for not releasing a tackled player on the ground, Nicky Little goaled from in front of the posts 30 metres out. (10-3)

The hours the Fijians had spent on their scrummaging during the week had paid dividends for much of the half but when they had their best opportunity to score, they were scrummed backwards at a five metre scrum three minutes before half-time.

The Irish scrummaging had been erratic, varying, strangely, from entirely unconvincing to powerful in a couple of scrums, but they came good when it mattered here.

From a deep Fiji kick into the Ireland 22 just before the break, Sexton launched the best counter-attack of the game. He beat advancing defenders before off-loading to O'Driscoll who sent D'Arcy away. With O'Driscoll and Horgan in close support, a try seemed certain but D'Arcy's peripheral vision failed him and what should have been a try-scoring pass went to a Fijian defender.

Sexton's penalty moments later gave Ireland a 13-3 lead going into half-time but they will have been disappointed at not scoring from their impressive counter-attack and should have led by a more commanding margin at the break.

Little reduced the lead to 13-6 four minutes into the second half when the Irish backs went off-side defending wide off a Fiji ruck inside their 22 and he goaled from close to the posts.

A minute later O'Driscoll intercepted an uncharacteristically tentative Little pass to score perhaps the easiest of all his tries for Ireland. Sexton converted from under the posts. (20-6)

The introduction of Leone Nakarawa and Timoci Nagusa added life to Fiji's attacking sorties with one powerful burst by Nakarawa, and Nagusa proving a handful for Irish defenders on each of the few occasions he was given the ball.

Ireland took a 27-6 lead when Earls scored his second try. Quick hands from O'Driscoll and D'Arcy gave him an overlap for a try in the corner. Sexton goaled from the touchline.

Again an unusually hesitant Little threw a tentative pass and again O'Driscoll intercepted. Ireland attacked right, then left, then right again. From the subsequent five metre scrum Kearney raced in from full back to score metres in from touch.

Sexton maintained his 100% kicking record to put Ireland 34-6 up with 11 minutes to play.

Ireland took the lead to 41-6 after 77 minutes when from a scrum close to the Fiji tryline Tomas O'Leary (on for Reddan) and D'Arcy combined on the blindside to send Shane Horgan into the corner unchallenged.

Sexton goaled from close to the touchline on his ?wrong side', much to the delight of the crowd.

Fiji came close to scoring a try late in the second half but the bottom line is that they were outgunned and while the final scoreline may not reflect their passion and effort, it does reflect the superior skills of the home team.

Man of the Match: It's an easy decision this week. Jonathan Sexton may not be selected ahead of Ronan O'Gara as Ireland's starting number 10 against South Africa next week but he certainly made it abundantly clear that he can reproduce at Test level the class he showed for Leinster in the Heineken Cup. The skill and composure he displayed in his debut Test was exceptional.

Moment of the match: Ireland's tries came from slick, intelligent rugby but the Moment of the Match would be Jonathan Sexton's conversion from the right touchline close to full-time to maintain his seven out of seven 100% goalkicking record on his debut. It solicited a huge cheer from the capacity crowd.

Villain of the Match: Nobody.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries: Earls 2, O'Driscoll, Kearney, Horgan
Cons: Sexton 5
Pens: Sexton 2

For Fiji:
Pens: Little 2

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Denis Leamy, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Andrew Trimble.

Fiji: 15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 12 Seremaia Baikeinuku (captain), 11 Nasoni Roko, 10 Nicky Little, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 8 Asaeli Boko, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Apolosi Satala; 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Viliame Seuseu, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Asaike Tarogi
Replacements: 16 Isireli Ledua, 17 Graham Dewes, 18 Leone Nakarawa, 19 Samu Bola, 20 Waisale Vatuvoka, 21 Josh Matavesi, 22 Timoci Nagusa

Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)