Ireland beat Japan 36-20 on Saturday (11 July) to make it six wins in a row at the Nations Championship, yet coach Andy Farrell was far from satisfied, admitting the scoreline “flattered” his side.

Five Irish players shared the try-scoring spoils on neutral territory at Newcastle, north of Sydney, as Ireland backed up their thrilling 33-31 comeback victory over Australia in Sydney last week.

Farrell made nine changes to his starting side, resting key players with an eye on next week’s blockbuster clash against New Zealand. This saw four players – Sean Jansen, Billy Bohan, Sam Illo and Bryn Ward – make their debut.

Japan, brimming with confidence after beating Italy at home a week ago, made just one change with Taira Main replacing Kippei Ishida on the left wing.

Main was in the thick of the action after three minutes when Ireland’s Ronan Kelleher put too much on a lineout throw and he gleefully collected to dash 60 metres to the line.

The Irish hit back quickly when Ulster flanker Nick Timoney dived under the posts.

A soft penalty allowed Matsunaga to restore Japan’s lead on 17 minutes in front of 11 021 fans at McDonald Jones Stadium, a host venue for the 2027 World Cup.

Ireland settled and began patiently building phases. The pressure told when prop Tom O’Toole crashed over for a 12-10 lead.

Matsunaga slotted another penalty to edge Japan back in front but Ireland kept their composure.

A maul worked efficiently to allow Craig Casey to fire the ball out the back to Robbie Henshaw, who burrowed over for a 19-13 halftime lead after a scrappy first half.

The second period started well for Ireland when number eight Jansen barged over after a lineout.

Japan came storming back with a converted try for replacement hooker Hayate Era to close the gap to six points with 22 minutes left.

Harry Byrne nailed a crucial penalty 10 minutes from time and a converted try by Tom Stewart at the death sealed the deal.

Ireland relieved

Despite the margin, Farrell was not impressed with his side’s performance.

“It was far from perfect and there were a few errors out there but we stuck at it and kept squeezing them until the end,” said Farrell.

“We didn’t convert all our chances but we stayed in the fight and played at the right end of the field when it mattered at the end of the game.

“We’ll take that, sometimes that’s rugby.”

Ireland captain Tadhg Beirne echoed his coach’s concerns.

“We had to fight hard for that one and stick in it,” said Beirne.

“Our set piece didn’t function as well as we would like tonight. That happens in games, but we’ll look at that for sure, and we’ll be good to go next week.”

Japan captain Warner Dearns was proud of his side’s effort despite the loss.

“We came out with a game plan and I think we executed it pretty well in the first half,” said Dearns.

“I think in that second half, we got a bit stuck in how we controlled the game and let Ireland play the game that they wanted to play.”

Ireland’s winning run will be put to the test next week when they travel to Auckland and an Eden Park cauldron for a blockbuster showdown with New Zealand.

The All Blacks are also two from two at the inaugural 12-team tournament, backing up their 34-32 victory over France with a 47-17 romp against Italy.

Japan host Six Nations champions France next, with Les Blues on a high after crushing Australia 42-26 in Brisbane with a rampant second-half display.