Japan 20 - 36 Ireland

● full_time 80 minutes

11 Jul 2026

Nations Championship

Stage: Southern Hemisphere Round 2

McDonald Jones Stadium

Head to Head

🎉 3

👏 2

🔥 3

😭 1

Ireland secured a convincing 36-20 victory against Japan in the Nations Championship at McDonald Jones Stadium. Japan took an early lead with a try from Main, followed by a conversion from Matsunaga, making it 7-0. However, Ireland quickly responded with two tries, the first from Timoney and then O'Toole, to take a 12-10 lead. Matsunaga's penalties kept Japan competitive, but Ireland's Henshaw and Jansen extended the lead with further tries, leading 26-13 at one point. Japan fought back with a try from Era, narrowing the score to 20-26, but Ireland's power proved too much. In the dying moments, Stewart secured the final try for Ireland, sealing the match at 36-20. Ciaran Frawley's consistent kicking was pivotal in Ireland's success, contributing to their impressive scoreline.

Broadcasters

Weather

Temperature: 12.7°C (Feels like 11.4°C) Condition: PartlyCloudy Wind: 7.6 km/h, gusting to 17.2 km/h Humidity: 79% Cloud Cover: 41%

Events

0' kickoff
3' try Taira Main
4' conversion Takuro Matsunaga
8' try Nick Timoney
9' conversion Ciaran Frawley
17' penalty Takuro Matsunaga
20' try Tom O'Toole
27' penalty Takuro Matsunaga
31' substitution Yuya Hirose
34' try Robbie Henshaw
34' conversion Ciaran Frawley
40' substitution Dylan Riley
40' half_time
40' second_half
47' substitution Mamoru Harada
47' substitution Thomas Clarkson
47' substitution Stuart McCloskey
50' try Sean Jansen
50' conversion Ciaran Frawley
52' substitution Harry Hockings
52' substitution Kanji Shimokawa
53' substitution Takato Okabe
53' substitution Shuhei Takeuchi
54' substitution Tom O'Toole
58' try Hayate Era
58' substitution Ronan Kelleher
58' substitution Jacob Stockdale
59' conversion Takuro Matsunaga
61' substitution Jack Conan
61' substitution Sean Jansen
70' penalty Harry Byrne
70' substitution Craig Casey
72' substitution Naoto Saito
77' yellow_card Hayate Era
82' try Tom Stewart
83' conversion Harry Byrne
80' full_time