Ireland End Season On Winning Note

Two tries apiece from Frankie Sheahan and Gavin Duffy helped Ireland on their way to a hard-fought 47-18 second Test win over Japan in Tokyo on Sunday.

Lipovitan D Challenge 2005: Sunday, June 19

Japan 18 Ireland 47, Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground, Tokyo

Scorers: Japan: Tries: Daisuke Ohata 2; Con: Keiji Hirose; Pens: Hirose 2

Ireland: Tries: Frankie Sheahan 2, Gavin Duffy 2, David Wallace, David Humphreys, Girvan Dempsey; Cons: Humphreys 6

The temperatures hit 30 degrees-plus as Niall O’Donovan’s new-look Irish side crossed for seven tries and a second straight defeat of the gutsy Japanese.

Having scored a meagre four touchdowns in the first Test, two periods of early dominance in each half paid dividends for the Irish at the tightly-packed Prince Chichibu Memorial ground.

Munster team mates David Wallace and Frankie Sheahan bulldozed their way through for Ireland’s openers inside the first eight minutes.

Two turnover tries for Japan’s record try-scorer Daisuke Ohata either side of the interval kept the home side interested, but five Irish efforts in the third quarter, including two for Harlequins ace Gavin Duffy and Sheahan’s second, sealed an eighth win of a ten-game season for the tourists.

Strong running from Munster wing Anthony Horgan sent Wallace over for Ireland’s first score on three minutes. Fly-half and captain David Humphreys converted – to leapfrog Ronan O’Gara’s Irish points scoring record of 525 by two – and added the extras to Sheahan’s second try of the tour, set up by a clever inside pass from Peter Stringer, five minutes later.

Japan, with former New Zealand Maori flanker Hare Makiri and ex-Otago centre Reuben Parkinson to the fore, began to make inroads into the Irish defence and they deservedly closed up the deficit to 14-10 by the interval.

Returning number 10 Keiji Hirose banged over a 32nd-minute penalty before lighting wing Ohata sprinted 50 metres from an Irish turnover to score.

Nonetheless, with Japanese prop Shigeyasu Takagi sin-binned in first half injury-time for a ruck offence, three tries in the opening nine minutes of the second half from O’Donovan’s charges put pay to any hopes the Cherry Blossoms had of an upset.

Humphreys notched the first two minutes in, after a neat break by Alan Quinlan, on as a replacement for the injured Eric Miller. Duffy added Ireland’s fourth fifty seconds later from turnover ball and Tommy Bowe set up full-back Girvan Dempsey for another on 49 minutes.

Duffy added his second – his third try in four Tests – eight minutes later for a 40-13 buffer, with the score crafted well from an Irish lineout, dominated by Ulster youngster Matt McCullough lining out for his second straight cap, over halfway.

5ft 9in speedster Ohata then claimed his second of the afternoon – and incredibly his 46th try in 46 Tests – when making the most of a Parkinson pass out of a tackle.

Ireland though, missing 13 regulars, including eleven players currently on the Lions tour, the injured Malcolm O’Kelly and rested Anthony Foley, had the final say on 66 minutes. With players wilting in the heat, hooker Sheahan dived over for his second and Humphreys kicked the conversion to moved the points record up to 542.

Leinster’s Kieran Lewis also came on in the closing stages to make his international debut.

Scoring Sequence:

3 minutes: Ireland try – David Wallace – 0-5; conversion – David Humphreys – 0-7
8 mins: Ireland try – Frankie Sheahan – 0-12; con – Humphreys – 0-14
32 mins: Japan penalty – Keiji Hirose – 3-14
34 mins: Japan try – Daisuke Ohata – 8-14; con – Hirose – 10-14
HT: Japan 10 Ireland 14
42 mins: Ireland try – Humphreys – 10-19; con – Humphreys – 10-21
43 mins: Ireland try – Gavin Duffy – 10-26
45 mins: Japan pen – Hirose – 13-26
49 mins: Ireland try – Girvan Dempsey – 13-31; con – Humphreys – 13-33
57 mins: Ireland try – Duffy – 13-38; con – Humphreys – 13-40
60 mins: Japan try – Ohata – 18-40
66 mins: Ireland try – Sheahan – 18-45; con – Humphreys – 18-47

JAPAN: Goshi Tachikawa; Daisuke Ohata, Reuben Parkinson, Yukio Motoki, Hiroki Onozawa; Keiji Hirose, Wataru Murata; Shigeyasu Takagi, Masakazu Nakabayashi, Ryo Yamamura, Hajime Kiso, Takanori Kumagae, Hare Makiri, Ryota Asano, Takuro Miuchi (Capt).

Replacements used: Ken Tsukagoshi for Nakabayashi (51 mins), Takeomi Ito for Kiso (58), Kenji Kasai for Takagi, Shota Goto for Murata (both 61), Tomoaki Nakai for Makiri, Teppei Tomioka for Motoki (both 69), Ayumu Goromaru for Onozawa (71).

IRELAND:

(15) Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster)
(14) Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
(13) Gavin Duffy (NEC Harlequins)
(12) David Quinlan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
(11) Anthony Horgan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
(10) David Humphreys (Dungannon/Ulster) (Capt)
(9) Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
(1) Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster)
(2) Frankie Sheahan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
(3) Simon Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
(4) Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster)
(5) Matt McCullough (Ballymena/Ulster)
(6) Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
(7) David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster)
(8) Eric Miller (Terenure College/Leinster)

Replacements used: Alan Quinlan (Shannon/Munster) for Miller (4-11 mins, 22-ft), Trevor Hogan (Shannon/Munster) for Cullen (51), Bernard Jackman (Clontarf/ConnachtGreystones/Leinster) for Horan (65), Kieran Lewis (St Mary’s College/Leinster) for Horgan, Kieran Campbell (Dungannon/Ulster) for Stringer (both 69), Jeremy Staunton (London Wasps) for Humphreys (76), Jackman for McCullough (78).

Sin-bin: Shigeyasu Takagi (40(+2) mins, first half)
HT: Japan 10 Ireland 14; Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)