8 November 2025: G: Aviva Stadium (Ireland) ; R: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
●Japan 10-41 Ireland○
Data:
8/11/2025, Challenge Tour 2025
Japan 10 – 41 Ireland
Aviva Stadium (Ireland)
Half-time 0 – 26
Refree: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Crowd: 50,060
JAPAN: 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence (23 Yuya Hirose 66), 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Seungsin Lee (22 Shinya Komura 58), 9 Naoto Saito (21 Shinobu Fujiwara 58), 8 Faulua Makisi (6 Gunter Ben 58), 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Gunter Ben (20 Michael Leitch 50), 5 Warner Dearns (capt), 4 Epineri Uluiviti (19 Jack Cornelsen 55), 3 Shuhei Takeuchi (18 Keijiro Tamefusa 58), 2 Kenji Sato (16 Shodai Hirao 67), 1 Kenta Kobayashi (17 Ryosuke Iwaihara 52).
Reserves:
HIA: 12 Charlie Lawrence (17~27 Yuya Hirose 23), 6 Gunter Ben (50~58 Michael Leitch 20).
Coach: Eddie Jones.
Tries: Kenji Sato.; Conversions: Seungsin Lee; Penalty Goals: Seungsin Lee; Drop Goals: None.
Red Cards: None, Yellow Cards: Charlie Lawrence (36 Dangerous Play).
Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne (23 Jimmy O’Brien 66), 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Crowley (22 Sam Prendergast 52), 9 Craig Casey (21 Caolin Blade 62), 8 Caelan Doris (capt), 7 Nick Timoney (20 Jack Conan 52), 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan (19 Cian Prendergast 52), 3 Thomas Clarkson (18 Finlay Bealham 58), 2 Ronan Kelleher (16 Gus McCarthy 58), 1 Andrew Porter (17 Paddy McCarthy 67).
Reserves:
HIA:
Tries: Jack Crowley, Nick Timoney, Andrew Porter, Gus McCarthy, Paddy McCarthy, Tommy O’Brien.; Conversions: Jack Crowley (2), Sam Prendergast (2); Penalty: Jack Crowley; Drop Goals: None.
Yellow Cards: Jacob Stockdale (43 Dangerous Play).
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 6min-pg Ireland, Jack Crowley-0-3, 20min-try Ireland, Jack Crowley-0-8; conv. Jack Crowley-0-10, 30min-try Ireland, Nick Timoney-0-15; conv. Jack Crowley-0-17, 37min-try Japan, Kenji Sato-5-17; conv. Seungsin Lee-7-17, 44min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-10-17, 48min-try Ireland, Andrew Porter-10-22; conv. Jack Crowley(missed)-10-22, 67min-try Ireland, Gus McCarthy-10-27; conv. Sam Prendergast (missed)-10-27, 72min-try Ireland, Paddy McCarthy-10-32; conv. Sam Prendergast-10-34, 72min-try Ireland, Paddy McCarthy-10-32; conv. Sam Prendergast-10-34, 76min-try Ireland, Tommy O’Brien-10-39; conv. Sam Prendergast-10-41.
Ireland has been struggling, but perhaps following Japan's crushing defeat to South Africa, they've fielded many young players in the starting lineup. However, given their loss to Japan in the RWC 2019 qualifying pool, they're sure to remain focused.
Japan kicked off the first half. Ireland launched aggressive attacks with a series of development plays. Japan launched a series of attacks from a scrum created by an Ireland knock-forward, but after several phases, they were penalized for side entry. In the fifth minute, Japan was penalized for collapsing in a scrum about 30 meters from the center of their own half, and Ireland's No. 10, Crowley, scored a penalty goal to take the lead (0-3). In the eighth minute, Japan launched a series of attacks from a lineout 10 meters from the opposing team's half, with their forwards and backs pushing vertically and winning consecutive rucks. Riley's grubber kick sent the ball 10 meters to the left of the opposing goal, but it didn't translate into a chance. In the 11th minute, Saito caught an opponent's touch kick outside the line and immediately threw it in, opening up the game. Osada went for the win and sent a pass to Yazaki on the far side, but the call was a (questionable) throw-forward. Ireland launched an attack from this scrum, but the ball was spilled from the ruck. Gunter picked it up and passed it to Sato, who passed it to Saito and Osada. Osada then stepped along the line and made a run, passing to Sato. However, Sato was isolated and lost the ball. In the 14th minute, Japan launched a quick kick to touch and aggressively attacked, but No. 1 Kobayashi at the ruck was penalized for neck-rolling an opposing player. In the 17th minute, during an open attack by Ireland, Lawrence was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle in which he lifted his opponent and dropped him on his head, reducing the team to 14 men. In the 19th minute, Ireland launched a series of attacks from a lineout to the right of the halfway line, and in the 20th minute, they continued to advance and win consecutive rucks. After a few phases, they swung left and Crowley circled into the try zone just under the post (Crowley's goal made it 0-10). In the 26th minute, Japan allowed Ireland to turnover the ball, allowing Ireland to advance to the left. It looked like an opportunity for Ireland, but a cross play by the center was called for an obstruction penalty. In the 30th minute, Ireland dropped the ball during a series of attacks (the referee ruled it was not a knock-forward), and No. 7 Timoney broke through when Japan's legs stopped and scored a try in the left corner (Crowley's goal resulted in a 0-17). In the 33rd minute, Japan continued to attack, closing in on the Irish goal, and Epineli Uruibaiti broke through, but his attempted offload pass was ruled a throw-forward. In the 35th minute, Japan continued to attack, creating an opportunity. With Ireland's penalty advantage, they went on a bold attack, but ultimately ended up with a knock-forward. In the 37th minute, Japan earned a penalty kick after a series of attacks, and kicked out the ball to the touch line of five meters in front of the Irish goal on the right side of the goal. In the my ball lineout Japan formed a tight maul and steadily advanced, allowing Sato to score a try (Lee's goal resulted in a 7-17). In the 40th minute, Saito's kick was charged, allowing Ireland to attack, but Japan regained the kicked ball and launched a series of attacks. After a few phases, the ball was spread open on the left, and Osada made a quick run along the touchline. Saito, following inside, looked set to make a pass, but his timing was off and the ball went loose. Osada picked up the ball and continued his side attack. Just before the end of the first half, in the 44th minute, Ireland committed a foul, allowing Lee to score a penalty goal from 25 meters in the center (10-17). During this play, Ireland's Stockdale was yellow carded and temporarily sent off, suggesting that Japan would suddenly take the pace.
The second half began with an Ireland kickoff, resulting in a high punt exchange. Osada's knock forward led to a scrum to the right of the halfway line, giving Ireland the ball. Japan pushed the scrum and earned a penalty kick. A penalty touch kick earned Japan a lineout on the left 22m line of Ireland's half. Warner caught the ball and pushed the maul, but it was no good. Japan committed a foul on a jumping cross at the lineout, and Ireland received a penalty touch kick to earn a lineout on the Japanese 22m line. They continued their attacking tactics, looking for a try opportunity. Crowley sent a long pass to O'Brien, who was waiting on the far right, and closed in on the Japanese goal. From the ruck, several forwards ran vertically to receive the ball, and No. 1 Porter received the pass and scored a try (Crowley's goal failed, making the score 10-22). In the 50th minute, No. 6 Gunter was replaced by No. 20 Leitch by HIA judgement. In the 51st minute, Japan continued their attacking tactics and earned a penalty kick in the middle of the Irish 22m line, kicking the ball out to touch line and resulting in a lineout 5m to the right of the Irish goal. After attacking the blinds, Japan moved to the left and Epineli charged in, but lost the ball. Ireland launched a counterattack, launching a series of attacks. Japan also threw in the ball and quickly countered, switching the offensive and defensive roles. During this flow, Ireland charged a Japanese kick and scored a try, but the try was canceled for offside. In the 56th minute, Japan launched a series of effective attacks, but Osada's pass to Maxi was knocked forward. In the 58th minute, Ireland earned a penalty kick after a Japanese collapsing the scrum and kicked out the ball to earn a lineout 10 meters to the left of the Japanese goal. At this point, No. 21 Fujiwara, No. 22 Komura (first cap), No. 18 Tamefusa, and a negative HIA test Gunter came on in place of Saito, Lee, Takeuchi, and Maxi, respectively. Then, in the 59th minute, Gunter and Cornelsen made choke tackles against Ireland's consecutive try-seeking attacks, resulting in a scrum for Japan five meters in front of the Japanese goal. In the 63rd minute, Japan continued to stubbornly tackle Ireland's relentless, continuous attack. It looked like a chance for a try, but Japan's pressure forced Ireland to make a pass mistake. In the 64th minute, Yazaki made a jumping catch of an Ireland high punt in the center of Japan's midfield, then evaded Irish defenders one after another and made a solo run, safely crossing the 10-meter line to form a ruck. Japan swung left, and with a long pass from Riley to Lawrence, they advanced down the left wing and created a ruck. Swinging to the right, the forwards made vertical runs, but Tamefusa's pass was dropped by Leitch, ruining the chance. In the 67th minute, Ireland took a penalty kick to kick the ball to touch and earned a lineout 5 meters in front of the Japanese right goal. They formed a tight maul and pushed forward. Japan's forwards also worked well together to halt the advance, but Ireland brought in a back and shifted to the right, allowing No. 16 Gus McCarthy to score a try in the right corner (Preddergast missed a goal, making it 10-27). With the pressure gone, Ireland, now in high spirits, again won a lineout 6 meters to the right of the Japanese goal in the 72nd minute. This time, they launched a series of attacks with a long throw, and three phases later, No. 17 Paddy McCarthy smashed the ball into the try zone (Preddergast goal made it 10-34). In the 76th minute, Japan developed from a scrum in the right midfield of their own half to the left, and a set play left Osada free to cross the halfway line, but Ireland stole the ball in a counter ruck, and after passing it, O'Brien ran alone to score a try (Preddergast goal made it 10-41). The game then reached full time.
Japan remained focused that day, and at the end of the first half (when the opponent received a yellow card at 10-17), it looked like they had a good chance of winning. However, with 20 minutes remaining in the second half, perhaps fatigue from the match against South Africa set in, and the game began to take place at Ireland's pace. In the past, Ireland played an old-school style, relying mainly on forwards and kicks. However, after losing to Japan at the RWC 2019 tournament in Japan, they changed their style and began to use continuous attacks, including backs. This allows them to gain momentum and score consecutive points. Next week, they face Wales, a team that will affect their rankings (and the RWC 2027 qualifying groupings), and the opponent is likely to be very committed. However, I hope they can stop the opponent's attacks with rushing tackles and lead Japan's ultra-fast rugby to victory.