Nations Championship: Japan 20 Ireland 36
The lack of occasion in a 30,000 ground with an 11,000 attendance and the host of untried combinations in something of a scratch side was always likely to make this a tricky one. And, predictably, Ireland’s performance was not without its hiccups and clunkiness.
But ultimately they won by five tries to two and so moved to the top of the northern hemisphere table of the Nations Championship with another bonus-point win. Granted, an incomparably tougher test, in every sense, awaits in New Zealand’s Eden Park fortress next Saturday, where the All Blacks have not been beaten since 1994.
An own goal from the game’s first throw looked ominous and rather set the tone for what was an indifferent Irish set-piece performance. There were four more lineout malfunctions and a few avoidable penalties in addition to three scrum offences, albeit the scrum had its moments as well.
Reaction: Ireland run in five tries as they beat Japan
That said, some of Ireland’s attacking shape was quite slick for such a relatively cobbled together side, even if they let Japan off the hook on occasions.
RM Block
Much of Ireland’s go-forward was generated by the carrying of Sean Jansen, who made an eye-catching, try-scoring man of the match debut with this strength on both sides of the ball and his footwork. He has strong Irish roots and being removed for the last quarter strongly suggests he’s in the mix to face the country of his birth.
Ditto Stuart McCloskey until he was removed, Robbie Henshaw, with another midfield veteran, Bundee Aki providing purpose and ballast off the bench.
While he had a couple of loose throws, some of Rónan Kelleher’s work on the ball was excellent. Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan had fine all-round games, but then again when do they not, and Andy Farrell et al are long familiar with their qualities.
Of those for whom opportunity knocks, the halfbacks Craig Casey and Ciarán Frawley had slightly mixed games, while Jimmy O’Brien maintained his rich form. He was good in the air and worked hard off his wing with some nice touches and elusive carrying. Jamie Osborne looked a quality player at fullback. He has much to offer this team, just where exactly remains to be resolved.
There were several passages of attacking play straight out of the Andy Farrell short-passing, quick recycling, phased template. Nick Timoney also slotted in fairly seamlessly, while Sam Illo and Billy Bohan each made an impression on debut.
Ireland and Kelleher, on his 50th cap, could hardly have made a worse start when the hooker’s throw looped over James Ryan, although it didn’t look as if the lifters had extended the lock high enough.
In any event, Japan’s left-winger Taira Main gathered on the run, and first eluded Frawley and then O’Brien for a soft 7-0 lead.
In response, O’Brien reclaimed a high ball which Kelleher snaffled. Ireland had a penalty advantage for Warner Dearns’ late rib-tickler on Frawley, who rose to this feet and marshalled the attack.
Jamie Osborne had a couple good carries, before Frawley put Jacob Stockdale through, and then Nick Timoney took Craig Casey’s pass to crash over and Frawley converted.
Matsunaga nudged Japan back in front after Craig Casey kicked out on the full, McCloskey needlessly played the scrumhalf, but again O’Brien made inroads from Kelleher’s offload. So too did McCloskey from Timoney’s tip-on before Tom O’Toole powered over for his first Test try from Thomas Clarkson’s feed.
Frawley missed the conversion and Matsunaga kicked Japan ahead again when McCloskey was offside. Ireland kicked to the corner and Kelleher rumbled forward after hitting Beirne and when Casey pulled the ball back for Henshaw he stepped Dylan Riley and powered through Yuya Hirose.
Frawley converted and the pity was that Ireland didn’t score for the second week running off a long-range set-piece. McCloskey steamed on to Kelleher’s long thrown and busted a tackle sufficiently to free his hands and release Timoney.
His Ulster team-mate had the impressive Jansen in support, only for him to be denied by the scrambling tackle of Tiennan Costley and Casey skipped Osborne in firing the ball a little too high at Henshaw.
A second scrum penalty against O’Toole had Japan pounding at the Irish defence, followed by a penalty to the corner but Beirne was, typically, orchestrator in chief of the turnover with help from James Ryan and O‘Toole.
Farrell turned to Illo and Aki, and was immediately rewarded. Illo locked his first scrum in Test rugby about 45 metres out, then Aki looped around Henshaw in a reprise of their old double act and made inroads. So too did Kelleher up the left touchline. There was an inevitability about the bonus-point try, and deservedly it was Jansen who plundered it from Conan’s popped pass.
But true to Eddie Jones’ prematch hyperbole about Sojiro Otuska, his 21-year-old loosehead won a penalty against Illo as soon as he arrived. This was compounded by Kelleher’s crooked throw and Hayate Ea burrowed under Nick Tumoney’s tackle for Matsunaga’s conversion to make it an edgy one-score game.
O’Brien reclaimed a Casey box-kick and there was one adroit take by Harry Byrne before Michael Leitsch was pinged for not rolling away. This was not the time for heroics. Byrne, in his first Test since the 2024 Six Nations, made it a two-score game with the penalty.
Byrne also released Frawley, now at fullback, for a run up the left and Era was binned for repeated infringements. One awful decision by Andrea Piardi relieved the siege before a nicely worked move led to a big carry by Ryan from Beirne’s deft pass. Tom Stewart then steamed on to Nathan Doak’s pass to score give the scoreline a better look.
Scoring sequence: 4 mins Main try, Matsunaga con 7-0; 9 mins Timoney try, Frawley con 7-7; 18 mins Matsunaga pen 10-7; 21 mins O’Toole try 10-12; 27 mins Matsunaga 13-12; 35 mins Henshaw try, Frawley con 13-19; (half-time 13-19); 50 mins Jansen try, Frawley con 13-26; 59 mins Era try, Matsunaga con 20-26; 71 mins Byrne pen 20-29; 80 mins Stewart try, Byrne con 20-36.
Japan: Takuro Matsunaga; Kazuma Ueda, Dylan Riley, Yuya Hirose, Taira Main; Ryunosuke Ito, Naoto Saito; Takato Okabe, Mamoru Harada, Shuhei Takeuchi, Harry Hockings, Warner Dearns (capt), Ben Gunter, Kanji Shimokawa, Jack Cornelsen. Replacements: Tiennan Costley for Hirose (32 mins), Sam Greene for Riley (half-time); Hayate Era for Harada (48 mins), Michael Stolberg for Hockings, Michael Leitch for Shimokawa (both 52 mins), Sojiro Otuska for Okabe, Keijiro Tamefusa for Takeuchi (both 54 mins), Itsuki Kamimura for Saito (73 mins), Okabe for Cornelsen (80 mins).
Yellow card: Era (77 mons).
Ireland: Jamie Osborne; Jimmy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Ciaran Frawley, Craig Casey; Tom O’Toole, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Tadhg Beirne (capt), James Ryan, Jack Conan, Nick Timoney, Sean Jansen. Replacements: Sam Illo for Clarkson, Bundee Aki for McCloskey (both 48 mins), Billy Bohan for O’Toole (55 mins), Tom Stewart for Kelleher, Harry Byrne for Stockdale (both 60 mins), Cormac Izuchukwu for Conan, Bryn Ward for Jansen (both 61 mins), Nathan Doak for Casey (70 mins).
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
