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Few would have backed the Japanese to pull off an unlikely win over Ireland in Dublin, but the hosts were made to toil to earn their win, with the match in the balance at halftime before the Irish pulled away 41-10 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Crowley (19'), Timoney (29'), Porter (47'), McCarthy (66'), McCarthy (71'), O'Brien (75')
Tries
Sato (36')
Crowley (20', 30'), Prendergast (72', 76')
Conversions
Lee (37')
Crowley (5')
Penalties
Lee (43')
Few would have backed the Japanese to pull off an unlikely win over Ireland in Dublin, but the hosts were made to toil to earn their win, with the match in the balance at halftime before the Irish pulled away 41-10 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Ireland’s second-half performance, thanks to great impact from their bench, finally snuffed out Japan’s valiant efforts, but it is still another hefty loss against a top-tier side for Eddie Jones’s side.
In the opening period, Ireland's points came from Jack Crowley and Nick Timoney tries and an additional penalty, compared to the Brave Blossoms' try from hooker Kenji Sato and five points from the boot of flyhalf Lee Seung-sin which saw Ireland lead 17-10.
One of the turning points in a tight first half was the yellow card for Japan’s centre Charlie Lawrence in the 17th minute, which gave Ireland momentum and sapped the energy of the fit Japanese. But before the half, Ireland found themselves down to 14 men as Jacob Stockdale was sin-binned following head-on-head contact with Kippei Ishida.
The second half had Andrew Porter, Gus McCarthy, Paddy McCarthy, and Player of the Match Tommy O’Brien score tries for the hosts, and they kept Japan scoreless, which the Brave Blossoms will be disappointed with.
Japan tried to stretch Ireland in the wide channels and had created chances, while their set piece was stable, even though they were outmatched at scrum time. The line-out disruptions caused Ireland problems, and the Japanese were tenacious at the breakdown.
Japan’s Head Coach Eddie Jones said, "With Ireland receiving a sin bin, we were unable to take advantage of our advantage and lost momentum.
In the final 30 minutes, despite having the ball in good condition, we gave it to the opponents and created a chance to score a try, but we were unable to convert it, and I think we also lacked composure. It would have been better if we had fought more tenaciously and made it a closer game, but I think we need to make sure to make adjustments, including small details and simple things, in order to move forward."
Japan’s exciting captain, Warner Deans, who is Super Rugby-bound next season, echoed the sentiment of his coach and lamented the missed opportunities. “We had some chances in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but I think we made some mistakes ourselves. It wasn't so much pressure, but rather we were slow to support the ball carrier, and the opponents were able to get past us with their jackals, so I think that's something we need to fix."
Toyota Verblitz’s utility back Shinya Komura came off the bench in the second half to make his debut, but he was unable to help the side combat the dominant Irish in the second period. “I'm happy to have had the opportunity to play in front of a nearly full crowd of 50,000 people. I'll continue to work hard to become a player who can perform even better on the world stage."
Hooker Kenji Sato, who scored his team’s only try in his 7th appearance for Japan, said of his try, “The driving maul is a try that all the forwards have to score. I don't have anything in particular to thank myself for, but after conceding several tries (from the maul) against South Africa last week, it gives us confidence that we were able to score against Ireland today.”
Japan faces Wales next Saturday (the Welsh play Argentina on Sunday), and Japan’s final game is against Georgia a week later. The Georgians were victorious over the USA this weekend.
