Ireland Take In Shizuoka Stadium For Captain’s Run

The Ireland squad wrapped up their training week with the Captain’s Run session at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, the venue for their crunch encounter with Rugby World Cup hosts Japan on Saturday (kick-off 4.15pm local time/8.15am Irish time).

Vice-captain Peter O’Mahony is understandably eager for game-time after a failed HIA cut short his outing against Scotland in last Sunday’s Pool A opener. “It wasn’t ideal to be coming off that early (in the Scotland game) but it’s part and parcel of rugby these days,” he said.

“You get through your return-to-play stuff and the strength & conditioning guys and the medical team are well used to it at this stage. It’s bread and butter (routine) for them and they were very good.

“I passed all the protocols. I trained fully on Tuesday and I’m ready to go. I’m feeling fresh – I only got 25 minutes (of play) or whatever so I’m looking forward to playing against Japan tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Garry Ringrose is looking forward to playing with Connacht’s Jack Carty at number 10, saying: “The adaptability of the squad is very important. You’ve got to be ready to play with different combinations. Jack is certainly more than ready to play and step up in his position.

“It’s up to the centres, myself and Chris (Farrell), to try and help him as much as possible so that he can focus on doing his job.”