Opinion
What a difference four months made for Ireland and Japan.
Following a tightly contested 39-31 victory for Ireland over Japan at the Aviva Stadium in July, the Brave Blossoms returned to Dublin to meet Ireland in the Autumn Nations Series.
From the off, Ireland ran riot over Japan, controlling possession and breaking the Japanese line 11 times on their way to a nine-try, 60-5 rout.
Selecting a few outstanding players from the Irish team was difficult, as both the backs and the forwards executed at a high level for the full 80 minutes.
The pack dominated at the set piece, disrupting Japanese possession, while the backs were rampant, accounting for eight tries.
Feel free to debate me in the comments, but here are my three stars for the Irish. Let’s start with their newest centurion.
Was this the cleanest performance we have ever seen from Johnny Sexton in an Ireland shirt? I wouldn’t say so, however in making his 100th appearance for Ireland at age 36, he certainly showed he could still pull the strings at the Test level.
(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
The Irish back line running through Sexton was ruthless from kickoff, exploiting lapses in the Japanese defence through impressive offloading and interplay.
In the 47th minute of the match, Sexton broke through the Japanese defence from five metres out, notching his 15th try for his country to mark his 100th cap.
The Irish crowd erupted following the score, recognising the signifigance of the try and in turn saluting their long-time number ten.
A further testament to the player Sexton is, following the elation of that moment, Sexton composed himself and nailed the conversion from near the touch line.
That wasn’t the last ovation Sexton recived, as he made way for Joey Carbery in the 61st minute to more applause from the fans at the Aviva. Sexton was certainly a star of the day.
It would be criminal not to include the hat-trick hero Andrew Conway in my list. The Munster winger was as at his clinical best, dotting down for three tries.
The one score that stood out to me the most was Conway’s first score of the day in the tenth minute, putting the Irish up 12-0.
After a few phases of rapid attacking play, Irish scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park thread the needle through the Japanese defensive line with a precise grubber kick that found a pocket of space in the 22 for Conway to run into, stay in bounds near the touch line and score the try.
(Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
No, this try was not impressive because of a highlight-reel step, leaving the defence to eat his dust. There was nothing fancy about the score.
However, what it showed was Conway’s finest quality as a winger. He is a clinical try scorer, taking his time to compose himself and pick up the grubber kick under pressure, all while maintaining the speed to beat the Japanese defence to the line, and dive in near the touch line.
That only appears easy because a player with Conway’s knack for scoring tries makes it seem that way.
Don’t worry, I’m giving the forwards some recognition as well. Ireland’s best forward and my final star of the match is Jack Conan, the Irish number eight.
Whenever Conan steps onto a rugby pitch the opposition knows that they will need to try to slow him down offensively.
He is an incredible ball-carrying eight man. Conan had his way up and down the pitch. On 15 carries, Conan accounted for 102 metres made, breaking four tackles.
When he’s in this form, Ireland have a big body that they know they can rely on for hard, positive carries, creating space for their backs to run.
That certainly showed, as the backs scored eight tries against a Japan team who have certainly become formidable opposition.
Point being, without Conan’s performance, the Irish don’t put up as many points as they did.
So there you have it, my three stars for Ireland in the thrashing of Japan.
What do you think? Who stood out to you? Who deserves a mention? Let me know in the comments.
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