Test Match No. 85: Ireland National Rugby Union Team's first visit to Japan, game 5

日本語 Photo Journal
2 June 1985 at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
●Japan 15-33 Ireland○
Lost with dignity after a brave attack
 
Data:
02/06/85, 2nd Test
Japan 15 Ireland XV 33
Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground, Tokyo
Half-time: 12-12
Referee: William Derek Bevan (Wales)
Touch Judges: Hiroki Yagi (Japan), Noboru Mashimo (Japan)
Crowd: 25,000
 
JAPAN: 15 Shogo Mukai, 14 Shinji Onuki, 13 Toshiro Yoshino, 12 Hideo Kobayashi, 11 Daijiro Murai, 10 Seiji Hirao, 9 Yoshimitsu Konishi, 8 Michihito Chida, 7 Yasuharu Kawase, 6 Masahiko Koshiyama, 5 Atsushi Oyagi, 4 Toshiyuki Hayashi, 3 Koji Horaguchi (capt), 2 Tsuyoshi Fujita, 1 Jiro Ishiyama.
Reserves: 16 Toshitaka Kimura, 17 Masaharu Inoue, 18 Yoshifumi Kasai, 19 Mitsutake Hagimoto, 20 Kazuhiko Honjo, 21 Hideo Toshima.
Tries: Murai, Onuki; Conversions: Kobayashi (2); Penalty Goal: Kobayashi.
 
Ireland XV: 15 Hugo P. MacNeill, 14 Trevor Maxwell Ringland, 13 Brendan John Mullin, 12 Michael Joseph Kiernan, 11 Keith Derek Crossan, 10 Paul Michael Dean (20 Ralph P. Keyes 2nd Half 40), 9 Michael Timothy Bradly (19 Rab C. Brady 1st Half 40), 8 Brian Jeremiah Spillane, 7 Paddy Kenny, 6 Phillp Michael Mathews, 5 Donal Gerald Lenihan, 4 William Andrew Anderson, 3 James Joseph McCoy, 2 Ciaran Fintan Fitzgerald (capt), 1 Phillip Andrew Orr.
Reserves: 16 Anthony Paul Kennedy, 17 Harry Thomas Harbison, 18 Paul C. Collins, 21 John Arthur Hewitt.
Tries: Kiernan (2), Mullin, Anderson; Conversions: Kiernan (4); Penalty Goals: Keirnan (3).
 
Scoring sequence (Japan's score shown first): 2min-pen Japan, Kobayashi (missed), 7min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan (missed), 20min-try Ireland XV, Kiernan; conv. Kiernan-0-6, 27min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan (missed), 29min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan (missed), 32min-try Japan, Murai; conv. Kobayashi-6-6, 38min-try Japan, Onuki; conv. Kobayashi-12-6, 42min-drop goal Japan, Hirao (missed), 43min-try Ireland XV, Mullin; conv. Kiernan-12-12, Half-time, 47min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan-12-15, 50min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan (missed), 51min-pen Japan, Kobayashi (missed), 54min-pen Japan, Kobayashi (missed), 63min-try Ireland XV, Kiernan; conv. Kiernan-12-21, 68min-pen Japan, Kobayashi-15-21, 71min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan-15-24, 36min-pen Ireland XV, Kiernan-15-27, 82min-try Ireland XV, Anderson; conv. Kiernan-15-33.
 


The number of tries is two for Japan and four for the opponent. Japan put up a great fight scoring two tries while the opponent scored four. As I always say, if they examine those four tries and work out a way to prevent two of them, Japan has a chance of winning. It was great that Japan could play head-on against the champion of the five nations tournament. Stand-off Hirao constructed the game. The forwards fought well centring Hayashi and Oyagi. They made this neck-and-neck game possible. The try Japan scored in the 28th minute of the first half was remarkable. Oyagi made a dash, passed the ball to Hayashi while the team was approaching the opponent's territory. They moved the ball from a ruck to the open left side. Yoshino received Hirao's flying pass. He attracted the defence and passed the ball to Murai to score a try beautifully to equalise the game. Chida took the ball out of scrum, Onuki cut in and ran for 30 metres to score a try, and Kobayashi added a conversion to make it 12-6. Japan copped an interception after this, and ended the first half in a tie. Japan conceded points with an interception also in the second half.