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Ireland secured a 43-19 win over Japan at Virgin Media Park in Cork, with debut tries from Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett sealing a seven-try performance.
Ireland women secured a 43-19 victory over Japan at Virgin Media Park in Cork, their second win over the same opponents in seven days. The match on Saturday afternoon saw Ireland score seven tries to Japan's three, with debut tries from Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett providing late insurance against a second-half Japanese revival.
Ireland Build Lead Over Japan
Béibhinn Parsons was named player of the match and set a new Irish record with her 25th international try. Ireland started poorly, conceding three penalties in the first five minutes. Japan capitalised when Sakurako Korai burrowed over from a maul, with Maiko Nishi converting for a 7-0 lead.
After an Emily Lane response was chalked off, Éilis Cahill broke through under the posts for her first international try, leaving Dannah O'Brien the easiest of conversions to level the score at 7-7. With better discipline, Ireland began to limit Japan's opportunities and inflicted a double blow in the 25th minute. Anna McGann's footwork and offload gave Parsons a chance to prosper.
She came within inches of the line before Japanese lock Masami Kawamura was penalised for cynically slowing the ball in the ruck and sin-binned. Ireland wasted no time in levelling the punishment with a rapid maul move touched down by Brittany Hogan for her third try against Japan in seven days. O'Brien's conversion missed, leaving it 12-7. It got better moments before Japan were restored to 15 players.
O'Brien's superb 50:22 kick conjured up the opportunity and with centre Aoife Dalton joining the advancing maul, Neve Jones got around the outside to score. O'Brien's conversion came up short as Ireland exited the sin-bin period with a 10-point advantage at 17-7. Ireland's fourth try before half-time was all about McGann.
McGann and Parsons Extend Advantage
The Connacht centre's wonderful pass sent Niamh Gallagher away and when the full-back was stopped short, McGann showed outstanding strength to reach out in contact and touch the ball down. O'Brien's touchline miss left it 22-7 at half-time. Within two minutes of the restart, Parsons added to her new Irish record with a 25th international try, and third in two games against Japan, cutting inside the final tackler to cap a 40-metre run-in. O'Brien added the extras for 29-7.
Japan upped the tempo to wipe 12 points off that lead with tries from Nami Asari and a maul effort from Nijiho Nagata, with Nishi converting the first. The lead was back to 10 points at 29-19, but the game turned on more Japanese indiscipline. The TMO intervened to sin-bin Nishi for a high tackle which drew blood from Erin King's nose. It remained a yellow after review, but Ireland immediately profited for the 63rd-minute insurance score.
McInerney spun out of contact and kept driving through four more defenders for a memorable debut try. Barrett added a late try, and Enya Breen converted both for a 24-point victory.
Match Scoring and Ireland Depth
The scoring sequence was: 4 mins Korai try, Nishi conversion 0-7; 8 mins Cahill try, O'Brien conversion 7-7; 24 mins Hogan try 12-7; 33 mins Jones try 17-7; 37 mins McGann try 22-7; half-time 22-7; 41 mins Parsons try, O'Brien conversion 29-7; Asari try, Nishi conversion 29-14; 54 mins Nagata try 29-19; 64 mins McInerney try, Breen conversion 36-19; Barrett try, Breen conversion 43-19. Ireland's squad showed growing depth with first starts for Jane Clohessy and Niamh Gallagher, plus debuts for McInerney, Barrett, and Kate Jordan off the bench.
Ireland: N Gallagher; B Parsons, A McGann, A Dalton, R O'Connor; D O'Brien, E Lane; L Djougang, N Jones, E Cahill; J Clohessy, F Tuite-O'Sullivan; B Hogan, E King (capt), J Adams Verling. Replacements: S Barrett for Cahill (44 mins), A McInerney for Gallagher, G Moore for Adams Verling, A Reilly for Lane (all 49), K Jordan for King (blood), E Breen for D O'Brien, B Buttimer for Jones (all 63), S McGrath for Djougang (69).
Japan: M Nishi; H Tsunokawa, U Kataoka, M Furuta, K Imakugi; S Harada, M Tsukui (capt); H Komaki, M Nagaoka, W Kitano; M Kawamura, Y Sato; N Asari, S Korai, J Nduka. Replacements: N Yoshida for Komaki, N Nagata for Nagaoka, J Fuji for Kitano, O Yoshimura for Sato (all 43 mins), K Hayashi for Furuta (HIA, 49), M Nishimura for Nduka (63), S Nakashima for Tsukui (70), S Nakamura for Kawamura (73).
The win provides valuable experience for Ireland's squad, with head coach Scott Bemand building depth ahead of future challenges. The debut tries from McInerney and Barrett, along with first starts for Clohessy and Gallagher, highlight the team's growing pool of talent. Ireland's disciplined second-half performance, despite a brief Japanese revival, demonstrates their ability to close out games. The victory follows last week's win over Japan and sets a positive tone for upcoming fixtures.
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IrishTimes:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Ireland Women Rugby Japan Women Rugby Virgin Media Park Béibhinn Parsons Alana Mcinerney Sophie Barrett Scott Bemand Japan Rugby
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