Following Ireland’s 36-20 victory over Japan in the Nations Championship, here’s how we rated Andy Farrell’s charges at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia.
Ireland player ratings versus Japan
15 Jamie Osborne: Ireland’s biggest attacking and tactical threat in the backline in what was a disjointed and lucklustre performance overall. He was strong in contact and played a prominent role in Ireland’s first try and used his boot to great effect throughout the match. 7
14 Jimmy O’Brien: Left clutching at air for Japan’s first try as the step soundly beat him. He was impactful in the air at times, crucially winning possession back in the 70th minute before the penalty. Like many of his teammates, decent without impressing. 6
13 Robbie Henshaw: First Test match since November but Henshaw proved that he is still of international quality. The experienced midfielder punished terrible defence from Japan to score before half-time, a crucial try in the grander scheme of things. He defended the threatening Dylan Riley well too. 7
12 Stuart McCloskey: Perhaps the most underwhelming showing this year in the green jersey from the Ulsterman – though his standards have been incredibly high. Conceded a pair of penalties and didn’t have the usual impact with ball in hand that we have come to expect of late. Out of character but not terrible, replaced early in the second half. 5
11 Jacob Stockdale: A largely anonymous hour from the Ulster winger after some flashes of brilliance, particularly in the build-up to Nick Timoney’s try. However, there was little to write home about thereafter. 5
10 Ciaran Frawley: It was always going to be difficult for him to get the attack firing considering the number of changes that were made and that proved to be the case. His first start in two months and his first Test start since the 2024 Six Nations and it showed. Still, he had a handful of good moments before shifting to full-back when Harry Byrne entered the fray. 4
9 Craig Casey: Hit-and-miss performance, assisting two tries and kicking well at times but far too often he was overeager and wasteful. On balance, it wasn’t the best performance from the Munster halfback. 4
The forwards
8 Sean Jansen: One of four Test debutants today and he certainly took his opportunity well, adding some real pop in attack with his carries. He also ran off the base of the scrum well. Grabbed a deserved try in the second half. One of Ireland’s best today. 8
7 Nick Timoney: His breakdown brilliance and defence are usually the real strong points of his game, but today he showed that he is far more rounded than that with a powerful attacking performance. He grabbed a try, topped the metres gained count in the first half for Ireland, but continued to deliver on his aforementioned strengths too. Went the distance in what was a strong outing. 7
6 Jack Conan: Just what you’d expect from Conan, busy, aggressive, and accurate. He sprinkles the flash in every now and then, but the back-rower always does his core duties well. Replaced after an hour, a tidy shift. 6
5 James Ryan: Very fortunate to get away with his shoulder charge on Sam Greene to deny the replacement back a try. Warner Dearns also caused all kinds of havoc for the Irish lineout, with Ryan being one of the main jumpers today. Penalised twice throughout 80 but still did a lot of heavy lifting at the breakdowns. 5
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4 Tadhg Beirne (c): Part of a malfunctioning lineout that was put under the pump by the Brave Blossoms. However, Beirne pitched in with crucial interventions yet again. Not that compelling but always effective. 6
3 Thomas Clarkson: Tidy scrum performance on the whole, scored a crucial try and did his job well before being replaced early in the second half, perhaps with an eye to Eden Park next week. 7
2 Rónan Kelleher: His overthrown lineout led to the opening try of the game, but he quickly went about rectifying the mistake and won the battle for the crumbs leading to his side’s reply. The lineout struggled, and while that’s not all his doing, he has to cop a lot of the blame for it. Two Japan tries came from his inaccuracies. Far from a standout performance in what was his 50th appearance. 3
1 Tom O’Toole: Like his fellow prop, he scored a try and scrummaged relatively well before getting dominated in his final set-piece before immediately being hooked. 6
Replacements: The replacement front row was outclassed at scrum time and were lucky to win a penalty in the second half. Tom Stewart also struggled with his lineout darts but ran a good line to score a try that bloated the scoreline to something that did not reflect the true nature of the match. Harry Byrne brought more control at fly-half while Bundee Aki made an immediate impact, leading to Jansen’s try – one has to wonder what today’s result would have been if he hadn’t. All in all, Farrell will be fuming as his team were underwhelming today, including the majority of the bench. 5