Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GARRY’S GONE PANHANDLING
Chance to experience culture clash in Tokyo too good to go a-begging reckons Ringrose
GARRY RINGROSE has come a long way in a short time but nothing prepared him for the culture shock of Ireland’s trip to Japan. Since making his Irish debut last November, the Leinster star hasn’t missed a game for his country. He starred in the 50-22 win over Japan and will play his 11th Ireland game in a row tomorrow as the season wraps up with the second test against the Brave Blossoms. The 22-year old may have missed out on the Lions this time round but he has relished this summer tour to New Jersey and Tokyo. “A pretty incredible experience,” he said. “I’d never been to New York before and certainly haven’t been to Tokyo. “Whatever about the States, which we’d all be a little bit familiar with, I hadn’t an excuse to get out to this side of the world so adapting to the culture and even preparing for the opposition we’re playing – it’s all a big learning curve for everyone.” Barring injury, Ringrose will surely be back in Japan for the 2019 World Cup. He has enjoyed getting a feel for the place and seeing how the locals live. “They’re incredibly respectful to each other: greeting, being polite and smiling is all. “Whether it’s a binman or the owner of the hotel, they all treat each other the same. It’s incredibly tidy everywhere. I haven’t seen a scrap of dirt. So, it’s a little bit different: a lot more cleancut than Dublin. “And the way the Japanese play – because they’re quite close to New Zealand a lot of their playing style is adapted, in my opinion, from the way the All Blacks play. They’re incredibly dangerous and they showed in the last 20 minutes what they’re capable of. “They’ll be looking forward to playing on Saturday – a lot of them, if they had the option to play (again) straight after the game, they would have taken it because I think they would have been slightly disappointed in some of the areas and how they delivered. “Looking at the analysis of their players – individually how strong they are and then collectively how strong they can be I think they’ll be coming out all guns blazing.” Ringrose scored his third Irish try in last week’s game, and a week earlier landed a touchline conversion from the left in the win over the USA. It was another illustration of the range of skills he possesses, and being ready to deliver when the opportunity arose. “I kicked a bit in school. There are so many world class kickers at Leinster I haven’t been needed to kick, and then just the way things panned out, with Rory Scannell on the bench and Joey (Carbery) picking up a knock, I was next in line because with Joe (Schmidt) there’s rarely a stone left unturned. He needs everyone to be ready for any sort of circumstance so in that instance I was prepared over the last couple of training camps to step up.”