Japan v Ireland: Five takeaways as Ciaran Frawley ‘fails audition’ while debutant ‘catches the eye’ with fine all-round showing
Ireland number eight Sean Jansen (inset) and fly-half Ciaran Frawley in action against Japan.
Following a 36-20 bonus-point victory for Ireland over Japan at the McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, here’s our five takeaways from Saturday’s Nations Championship Test.
The top line
The men from the Emerald Isle made it back-to-back away victories in the Nations Championship after outscoring the Brave Blossoms by five tries to two.
Andy Farrell‘s troops were made to work hard for this win though as their opponents were competitive for long periods and opened the scoring after four minutes when Taira Main dotted down with Takuro Matsunaga adding the extras.
Ireland drew level when Nick Timoney went over for a five-pointer which was converted by Ciaran Frawley before Matsunaga slotted a penalty in the 18th minute which gave Japan a 10-7 lead.
Midway through the opening half, Ireland took the lead for the first time when Tom O’Toole barged over for a well-taken try but another three-pointer off the kicking tee from Matsunaga meant the Brave Blossoms held a slender 13-12 by the 33rd minute.
Ireland had the stronger finish to the half though as five minutes later Robbie Henshaw crossed for a try which Frawley converted and the Irish held a 19-12 lead at half-time.
The second half saw the visitors make the brighter start as they extended their lead after 51 minutes courtesy of a converted try from Sean Jansen but the Brave Blossoms did not surrender, and their attacking efforts were also rewarded when Hayate Era dotted down on the hour-mark.
Despite being under pressure for most of the final quarter, Ireland finished stronger and after Harry Byrne added a penalty in the 71st minute, they sealed their win when Tom Stewart crossed for a converted try in the game’s dying moments.
Ciaran Frawley fails to take his chance
After securing a narrow victory over the Wallabies in Sydney last weekend, Farrell opted to rest numerous of his stars who were in action in that game while several of the fringe players in his squad were selected for the clash against Japan.
One of those selections was Connacht-bound utility back Frawley, who was making only his 14th Test appearance in just under three years since making his debut for his country.
Although fly-half is the 28-year-old’s preferred position, this was the first time he was starting in that role for his country as Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley have been the players who have been pulling the strings as Ireland’s first choice number 10 in most of their Tests in recent years.
However, things did not go according to plan for Frawley as he battled to ignite his team’s attack and had little success in breaking down a resilient defensive effort from the Brave Blossoms.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Frawley as he showed a willingness to take the ball into contact and he eventually gained 46 metres from 17 runs but there was little cohesion in Ireland’s attacking play while he was at fly-half.
He was shifted to full-back in the 59th minute with Harry Byrne coming on at fly-half and, if truth be told, Frawley looked more dangerous during this game’s final quarter.
However, he will be judged on his performance at fly-half and, unfortunately, he failed that audition which means he is unlikely to get another chance in Ireland’s number 10 jersey anytime soon.
Another impressive performance from the Brave Blossoms
After making an outstanding start to their Nations Championship campaign, courtesy of a 27-10 win over Italy in Tokyo last week, Eddie Jones’ charges continued to impress in the newly established tournament as they were competitive for long periods.
Despite losing by 16 points, the Brave Blossoms can be proud of their performance as the full-time score is not a fair reflection on this encounter’s eventual outcome.
From the outset, Japan took the fight to their opponents and they did well to punch above their weight in the set-piece battle, especially during the opening half where they stood up well at scrum-time and proved disruptive on Ireland’s throw-ins at the lineouts.
Left wing Main gave them a shot in the arm when he tore Ireland’s defence to shreds with a superb line break before crossing for the opening try while full-back Matsunaga kept the scoreboard ticking with accurate goal-kicking throughout.
And when replacement hooker Hayata Era scored their second try in the 60th minute, they had their tails up as the match was evenly poised with Ireland holding a 26-20 lead.
Although Japan lost their way during the final quarter, Jones and his players will be encouraged by this performance ahead of their next Nations Championship match against France in Tokyo next week.
Sean Jansen catches the eye on Test debut
The New Zealand-born Connacht back-row hit the ground running in this fixture and caught the eye with an outstanding all-round performance on his international debut for Ireland.
The 27-year-old took the fight to Japan on attack where he proved a real handful to the Brave Blossoms defence with several barnstorming carries which gave his side good momentum.
Despite it being his Test bow, there were little nerves on display from the number eight as he laid down a marker during an impressive 62-minute stint on the field.
Jansen’s attacking prowess saw him finishing with a match-high 53 metres gained from 12 carries which included five defenders beaten an offload and a well-taken try early in the second half.
He also impressed on defence as he completed 13 tackles and his efforts were rewarded with the official man-of-the-match award after the game.
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Few positives for Ireland
Although Ireland secured another bonus-point win in this fixture and have a full house of 10 points in the standings after completing two matches, their head coach Farrell will not be entirely happy with his side’s efforts.
While he did make plenty of changes to his matchday squad for this clash, most of the players who came into the run-on side did not take their chances and there were few players who came out of this match with credit.
Jansen was the standout performer and the debutant received good support from his back-row partner Timoney who, apart from crossing for a deserved try during the early stages, finished with a team-high 15 tackles made and also impressed during the breakdown battle.
Amongst the backs, veteran centre Robbie Henshaw came to the fore with a fine performance as he got through plenty of work on defence while also doing his bit with ball in hand and also dotted down.
Jamie Osborne also had some good moments in contact and was solid at the back while Bundee Aki made a big impact when he replaced Stuart McCloskey at inside centre during the early stages of the second half.