Ryan thanks physios for getting him ready to skipper Ireland to victory over Japan

Stand-in Ireland captain James Ryan hopes to shake off the lingering injury issues that have affected him in recent months once he completes his international duties next weekend.

The le inst er lock was a doubt for Saturday afternoon’s hardfought 39-31 Test victory over Japan because of an adductor problem that seemed to scupper the chance of linking up with the British and Irish Lions in South Africa.

However, Ryan was passed fit and led Ireland out in front of 3,000 supporters at the Aviva Stadium as regular skipper Johnny Sexton has been rested for the summer assignments alongside Keith Earls and Cian Healy.

Ireland now turn their attention to a clash against the United States next Saturday, which will mark the end of a long and, at times, frustrating campaign for Ryan, who is determined to use the off-season to his advantage.

“Credit to the physios for getting me back, it was a huge honour to lead the boys,” Ryan said.

“At times throughout the season I've had niggles and little breaks in the game, I probably haven’t been able to put games and weeks together the way I would have liked. After these next couple of games it will be a good window for myself to work on little niggles so I can commit fully physically into next season and beyond. But leading the boys was a huge honour and we're really happy with the result.”

Chris Farrell, Stuart Mccloskey, Finlay Bealham, Josh Van Der Flier and Jacob Stockdale touched down, while Joey Carbery added the extras to four tries, before two late penalties ultimately took the wind out of Japan's sails.