BLOSSOM THRILL
Irish stutter at times but do just enough to win try-fest
IRELAND flirted with disaster for 50 minutes at the Aviva before eventually subduing Japan in a thriller.
The last half-hour improvement could have emanated from a hefty Andy Farrell half-time lecture or the use of bulk simply wearing down the Brave Blossoms.
But there was yet another reminder that Ireland’s strength in depth is nothing like the laughable, four-deep chart some like to suggest.
With seven players away on Lions duty, Andrew Porter and Gary Ringrose injured, Johnny Sexton and Cian Healy rested and James Ryan – to be polite – only 75% fit, the remainder struggled to impose their will.
Ireland’s last two scores were penalties – gratefully taken and needed to put away the world’s 10th-ranked side.
“We’ve learned quite a lot,” said coach Andy Farrell. “We were a bit rusty, we compounded it with errors and errors. It made the game difficult for us, it looked like they had ‘legs’ more than we did.
“In the second half we controlled the game with the set-piece and field position and we went after Japan – that was the most pleasing thing.”
Josh van der Flier was a more than deserving man of the match, running with intent and adding a try while Hugo Keenan was excellent when coming into the line.
Peter O’mahony played a big role in attack and defence while Jamison Gibson-park was busy and, interestingly, left on for all but two minutes.
But Joey Carbery, now 25 and making only his seventh Ireland start, will come under pressure after four missed first half tackles and poor kicking choices.
Chris Farrell, Stuart Mccloskey, Finlay Bealham, van Der Flier and Jacob Stockdale all touched down while Carbery added the extras to four of those tries before two late penalties ultimately took the wind out of Japan’s sails.
The lead changed hands several times in a pulsating summer Test, their first meeting since Japan memorably prevailed in the pool stages of the World Cup two years ago.
Japan showed plenty of creativity and Michael Leitch, Timothy Lafaele, Siosaia Fifita and Naoto Saito went over, while Yu Tamura added 11 points with the boot but head coach Jamie Joseph was gutted at the defeat.
“I’m disappointed for the players actually,” he said. “I thought we played some great rugby at times and for a team that hasn’t been together for nearly two years, it’s a good sign for us.”