Johnny Sexton's hilariously snarky comeback to referee during Ireland's win over Scotland picked up by official's mic

JOHNNY SEXTON was on form with his mouth as well as his boot throughout Ireland's gutsy 22-7 win over Scotland.

The 37-year-old made it to the 70-minute mark before being withdrawn as his side had to overcome a lot of adversity at Murrayfield to keep their Grand Slam aspirations alive.

While he did miss his opening kick at goal, when the heat was really on he nailed two sideline conversions to help Ireland pull away from the hosts.

In doing so, he drew level with old foe-turned-friend Ronan O'Gara as the Six Nations' all-time leading scorer on 557 points.

But for all of that, the most memorable moment he provided was a typically witty retort to referee Luke Pearce which was picked up by the official's microphone.

Pearce had warned Sexton that Andrew Porter was getting overly mouthy in calling for a yellow card to be dished out as Scotland repeatedly infringed cynically at the breakdown to prevent a try.

During a break in play, the English official could be heard saying "Just be careful Johnny. If this player asks for a yellow card, then he might go as well. Okay?"

But quick as a wit, the veteran fly-half replied: "Okay. But now you know I'm going to ask for one."

In the end, Scotland somehow made it through the 80 minutes without one of their players going to the bin as Pearce let an awful lot go throughout.

However, between that and a spate of injuries up front, Ireland proved yet again that they are becoming a side that can overcome things not going their way.

DIDN'T PACK IT IN

Chief amongst these on-the-fly alterations which were enforced upon them was Josh van der Flier having to take over throw-in duties on line outs after Dan Sheehan and then Ronan Kelleher were both forced off through injury.

Sub Cian Healy also had to fill in at scrum time in the hooking role.

But they performed manfully with Ireland winning the bulk of their line outs throughout the second half while the scrum dominated with three props in the mix, wheeling the Scots on a number of occasions.

Andy Farrell's side will be heavy favourites to complete only the fourth Grand Slam in our history on Saturday at The Aviva against an England side at a real low ebb.

However, they will once again have to adapt and overcome as doubts remain over which, if any, of Garry Ringrose, Kelleher, Sheehan, Iain Henderson and Caelan Doris will be back in time for the quick turnaround.