| Japan (12) 29 |
| Tries: Otsuka, Matsuda 2, Nagura, Kato Cons: Otsuka 2 |
| Eire (5) 10 |
| Tries: Behan, O’Dwyer |
Japan avenged final week’s defeat towards Eire with an emphatic 29-10 victory in Tokyo to make sure the two-Check sequence led to a 1-1 draw.
Fly-half Ayasa Otsuka starred for the slick hosts, scoring one attempt to creating two extra whereas full-back Rinka Matsuda crossed twice.
Natasja Behan and Katie O’Dwyer scored Eire’s tries, however the guests have been a distant second within the contest.
Japan’s attentions now flip to this autumn’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Whereas Eire will probably be disillusioned by their exhibiting, notably within the context of how spectacular they have been the week earlier than, head coach Greg McWilliams will hope his younger gamers have benefited from publicity to Check rugby in what was the ladies’s staff’s first-ever summer time tour.
After a scintillating show within the first Check in Shizuoka, Eire picked up the place they left off in humid circumstances at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, scoring the opening attempt inside three minutes.
Ailsa Hughes plucked the ball from a maul and attacked the short-side earlier than feeding Behan, who crossed for her first worldwide attempt on her second look.
The lightning-fast begin would show to be nearly as good because it bought for the Irish, as their struggles on the set-piece handed Japan the benefit in each territory and possession.
The Irish defence initially did properly to repel the hosts’ assaults, twice holding them up over the road after Japan discovered momentum by means of a driving maul.
Nonetheless the Japanese strain did finally repay as they performed the ball shortly from the again of a scrum to fly-half Otsuka, who darted by means of a niche exterior Enya Breen to stage the scores.
The hosts hit the entrance 4 minutes earlier than the break, once more taking advantage of a stable scrum to arrange a strike-play that noticed Otsuka play an inside ball to Matsuda, who powered by means of Edel McMahon’s tried sort out to present Japan a deserved half-time lead.
The momentum was fully with Japan and Eire couldn’t apply sufficient sustained strain to work their approach again into the competition, as an alternative coughing up extra territory after the break with Hinano Nagura including her facet’s third attempt within the nook having collected Otsuka’s skip-pass.
Three minutes later Matsuda realistically ended Irish hopes of a comeback as she stormed down the left, keeping off poor tackles from Behan and Meabh Deely to increase Japan’s result in 17.
There was some transient respite for Eire as they lastly moved into the 22 themselves, mauling over the road with O’Dwyer touching down simply earlier than the hour mark.
Nonetheless the rating did nothing to fluster Japan, who saved coming with their highly effective ball-carriers making floor with each carry, punching holes within the Irish line and creating area for Sachito Kato to burrow over for the hosts’ fifth and remaining rating.
Eire: Deely; Behan, Dalton, Breen, Doyle; O’Brien, Hughes; Feely, Jones, Djougang; Fryday (capt), O’Connor; Brown, McMahon, Moore
Replacements: Hooban, Pearse, O’Dwyer, Schultzer, Keating, Scuffil-McCabe, Tilly.
Japan: Matsuda; Nagura, Furuta, Nakayama, Imakugi; Otsuka, Abe; Minami (capt), Nagata, Sadaka; Y Sato, Takano; S Sato, Nagata, Nagai.
Replacements: Lavemai, Taniguchi, Kato, Tamai, Yoshimura, Tsukui, Yamamoto, Hosokawa.
