Rugby World Cup, Pool C: Ireland 42 Japan 14
The bottom line for Ireland was overwhelmingly positive after a bonus-point victory over Japan to start their World Cup campaign, claiming six tries in front of an Irish-dominated crowd at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton.
Under the hood, a faltering lineout and a high second-half error count will keep the team analyst busy. That Ireland dropped off after a breathtaking first half which only took 41 minutes is understandable. After opening up a 21-point lead at the break, Ireland were at risk of opening the door for a Japanese recovery.
The manner in which that fightback was quashed, the likes of Eve Higgins, Neve Jones, Amee-Leigh Costigan and Béibhinn Parsons to the fore in a series of critical defensive moments, will be of comfort to Scott Bemand and his staff. Brittany Hogan’s busy carrying display saw her named player of the match.
Ireland’s joyous World Cup start
Ireland started with the direct approach. A first entry into the 22 saw a stagnant maul repelled. Short runners hammered away thereafter, inching forward until scrumhalf Aoibheann Reilly spilled the ball when trying to snipe over the line. Parsons was screaming for a pass in space, to no avail. Her moment would come.
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After another maul failed to work, Ireland moved away from the unsuccessful tactic. A clever line from Hogan exposed the seam between the lineout and the backs. Japan were backpedalling, Ireland went wide. Simple hands did the trick. Dannah O’Brien, Higgins, Stacey Flood, Costigan, try, Ireland’s left wing powering past a weak last defender.
A follow-up took just five minutes. This time the forward brawn got its way as hooker Jones fell over the line after a dramatic slow march from mauling colleagues in front.
Fiona Tuite was calling plenty of lineout ball on herself, to good avail. The forwards were making ground and Ireland’s backline caused problems, while O’Brien kicked well in behind when attacks stalled.
It was a level Ireland couldn’t maintain. The lineout faltered, with Jones suffering from a bout of crooked throws. Japan also started marking Tuite.
Approaching 25 minutes, Ireland refound their spark. A midfield scrum offered their dangerous backline a chance. Flood drew a defender with her decoy, Costigan cashing in to tear through the gap.
Her unsympathetic pass looked to be heading into the stand instead of a team-mate. Yet Parsons checked her run, timed the jump well and plucked the ball out of the sky. From a standing start, Parsons found the acceleration to power through another poor final tackle. O’Brien’s wide conversion continued a strong all-round kicking display.
This was a Japanese backline there for the taking, if Ireland could fix the fast crumbling set-piece. Not initially, Tuite spilling a lineout inside the 22. Flood delayed the inevitable with an athletic try-saving tackle on Komachi Imakugi, only for Haruka Horotsu to crash over seconds later.
Ireland answered through Higgins, the centre creating a score from an innocuous midfield attack. Once again, Japanese defenders were more focused on outside runners than the player with the ball. Higgins cut through a gap before sending Tuite under the posts.
Japan initially looked better for the half-time break and Ireland scrambled to hold up a maul and the resulting carries at the line. But only for so long, with Masami Kawamura crashing over from close range to narrow the gap.
Errors prevented Ireland from re-establishing dominance. Passes hit the floor, attacks came up empty. Japan were now dealing with O’Brien’s high bombs.
The match-defining moment came on 53 minutes. Japan had the line at their mercy, a break from deep scattering Irish defenders. Two Irish defenders faced at least five red and white jerseys. Higgins gambled and won. Charging out of the line, her intercept not only saved one score, it created another with nothing but grass in front of her. She had the gas to go from one set of posts to the other. What should have been 28-21 with Japan on the charge was suddenly 35-14 in Ireland’s favour.
Jones’s contribution phases earlier should not be discounted, the hooker tracking back to haul down outhalf Ayasa Otsuka to stop Japan from crossing after the initial break.
The score ended Japan’s resistance. An Irish penalty try was chalked off after Ruth Campbell obstructed at the maul, but the sixth try belatedly came via Reilly’s brilliant skip pass which sent Enya Breen over.
That was the last score, the final quarter descending into sloppiness on both sides. Linda Djougang was binned for slapping the ball down while a late rearguard was needed to stop Japan crossing following Otsuka’s cross-kick.
By no means perfect but job done. Sterner challenges await.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 5 mins: Costigan try, O’Brien con 7-0; 10: Jones try, O’Brien con 14-0; 24: Parsons try, O’Brien con 21-0; 30: Hirotsu try, Otsuka con 21-7; 37: Tuite try, O’Brien con 28-7; Half-time 28-7; 43: Kawamura try, Otsuka con 28-14; 53: Higgins try, O’Brien con 35-14; 63: Breen try, O’Brien co 42-14
IRELAND: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Costigan; Dannah O’Brien, Aoibheann Reilly; Niamh O’Dowd, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang; Ruth Campbell, Sam Monaghan (co-capt); Fiona Tuite, Edel McMahon (co-capt), Brittany Hogan.
Replacements: Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald for Jones, Ellena Perry for O’Dowd, Eimear Corri-Fallon for Campbell, Enya Breen for Higgins, Anna McGann for Costigan (all 61 mins); Grace Moore for Hogan, Emily Lane for Reilly (both 75); Sadhbh McGrath for McMahon (76).
Yellow card: Djougang (70 mins).
JAPAN: Sora Nishimura; Misaki Matsumura, Mana Furuta, Haruka Hirotsu, Komachi Imakugi; Ayasa Otsuka, Moe Tsukui; Sachiko Kato, Asuka Kuge, Wako Kitano; Yuna Sato, Otoka Yoshimura; Masami Kawamura, Iroha Nagata (capt), Seina Saito.
Replacements: Ayano Sakurai for Kitano, Nijiho Nagata for Yoshimura (both 50 mins); Manami Mine for Kato, Kyoko Hosokawa for Saito, Megumi Abe for Tsukui, Minori Yamamoto for Nishimura (all 61); Kotomi Taniguchi for Kuge (64); Sakurako Hatada for Imakugi (69).
Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy).
