Coach Joe Schmidt has made six changes to Ireland’s starting line-up to face Japan in Saturday’s rugby Test, the second of their three-match summer tour.
Andrew Conway, Rory Scannell, Luke McGrath and Dan Leavy will feature in the run-on XV for the first time, coming in after last weekend’s 55-19 victory over the United States.
Keith Earls, voted player of the match against the Americans, shifts to the left wing to accommodate Conway in a back three that also features the return of Simon Zebo at fullback.
Rory Scannell, joining his brother Niall in the starting XV, will partner Garry Ringrose in a new centre combination for the Irish, who are using the tour to prepare for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Ireland and Japan are set to meet in the group stage.
Schmidt is missing 11 players who are involved in the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, and is using the Tests against the US and Japan to give younger players international experience.
Openside flanker Leavy, who has three caps as a replacement, is the only change in the starting pack, joining captain Rhys Ruddock in the back row.
Japanese coach Jamie Joseph made five changes from the line-up who started in last week’s 33-21 win over Romania. Harumichi Tatekawa, Akihito Yamada, Yu Chinen and 98-Test veteran Hitoshi Ono were unavailable because of injuries.
William Tupou wins his first cap and joins Timothy Lafaele in the centres. Yu Tamura will start at five-eighth, with Kotaro Matsushima named on the wing in place of Yamada.
Keita Inagaki and Heiichiro Ito – who played against Romania from the bench – join captain Shota Horie in the front row.
JAPAN:
Ryuji Noguchi, Kotaro Matshima, William Tupou, Timothy Lafaele, Kenki Fukuoka, Yu Tamura, Fumiaki Tanaka; Amanaki Lelei Mafi, Yoshitaka Tokunaga, Michael Leitch, Uwe Helu, Kotaro Yatabe, Heiichiro Ito, Shota Horie, Keita Inagaki. Res: Yusuke Niwai, Shintaro Ishihara, Takuma Asahara, Hendrik Tui, Shuhei Matsuhashi, Yutaka Nagare, Derek Carpenter, Rikiya Matsuda.
IRELAND:
Simon Zebo, Andrew Conway, Garry Ringrose, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls, Paddy Jackson, Luke McGrath; Jack Conan, Dan Leavy, Rhys Ruddock (capt), Devin Toner, Quinn Roux, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Cian Healy. Res: James Tracy, Dave Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Kieran Treadwell, Jack O’Donoghue, Kieran Marmion, Rory O’Loughlin, Tiernan O’Halloran.
