Get Newsletter

Ireland keep June record intact

Joe Schmidt's second-string side looked on course to rack up 50 points for the third successive match as they ran in four first-half tries in Tokyo.

ADVERTISEMENT

The signs were ominous for Japan's "Brave Blossoms" when Gary Ringrose scored under the posts and flank Josh van der Flier wriggled over in the corner in the first 10 minutes.

Bulldozing tries from Kieran Marmion and stand-in skipper Rhys Ruddock further stretched the lead for Ireland, the bulk of whose regular players are on British and Irish Lions duty in New Zealand.

Japan's sole glimmer of hope had been Kotaro Matsushima's fine try on 24 minutes but after trailing 28-8 at half-time, the 2019 World Cup hosts offered significantly more resistance after the interval.

Akihito Yamada raced clear to score Japan's second try, while Ireland narrowly avoided going scoreless in the second half thanks to Sean Reidy's late effort.

Flyhalf Paddy Jackson converted all five tries for Ireland, who crushed Japan 50-22 last weekend and also broke the 50-point mark against the United States in their opening tour game in New Jersey.

The scorers:

ADVERTISEMENT

For Japan:

Tries: Matsushima, Yamada

Pen: Ogura

For Ireland:

Tries: Ringrose, Van der Flier, Marmion, Ruddock, Reidy

Cons: Jackson 5

Japan: 15 Ryuji Noguchi, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Kotaro Matsushima, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Jumpei Ogura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Shuhei Matsuhashi, 6 Michael Leitch (captain), 5 Uwe Helu, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Takuma Asahara, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Shintaro Ishihara

Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Takayuki Watanabe, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka

Ireland: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock (captain), 5 Devin Toner, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 John Ryan, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy

Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 James Ryan, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Tiernan O'Halloran

ADVERTISEMENT

Referee: JP Doyle (England)

Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Alex Ruiz (France)

TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Agence France-Presse

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Write A Comment