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Japan stun Ireland in another historic World Cup win

Ireland were stunned by Japan in another famous World Cup victory for the hosts which has blown o...



Ireland were stunned by Japan in another famous World Cup victory for the hosts which has blown open Pool A.

Jamie Joseph's men have taken control of the pool with a 19-12 victory in Shizuoka, putting Ireland's place in the quarter-finals under threat.

Japan started the game very well, putting Ireland under pressure after a grubber kick from Timothy Lafaele almost put winger Kotaro Matsushima for a try.

The Brave Blossoms had another chance to take the lead but Yu Tamura pushed a penalty from about 40m out well wide.

It was Ireland who opened the scoring after a lovely crossfield kick from Jack Carty found Garry Ringrose on the wing who pirouetted then dived over for the try after 13 minutes.

Tamura responded with a penalty to get Japan on the board but it didn’t take long for Joe Schmidt’s side to respond.

It was another kick from Carty that did the damage after he chipped and knocked it back himself into the arms of Rob Kearney who dotted down despite the efforts of Amanaki Mafi.

The momentum of the game changed from there on, however.

Japan started to grow into the game and dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the half.

Tamura closed the gap to just three points with two more penalties to leave it Japan 9-12 Ireland at half-time.

The host nation kept the pressure on after the break but missed out on a number of opportunities after a missed penalty from Tamura and a knock on 15 metres from Ireland's try-line.

Ireland's defence finally broke after 58 minutes when replacement Kenki Fukoaka dived over in the corner for a try. Tamura added the extras to put Japan ahead by four.

Schmidt's side were on top for the next 10 minutes or so but couldn't break through the Japanese defence and it was Japan who extended their lead with a penalty on 72 minutes.

The men in green were once again on top but an intercept from Kenki Fukuoka almost put the game to bed before an excellent tackle from Keith Earls stopped the Japanese man short.

Japan closed the game out from there and secured another famous victory.

 

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Ireland Japan RWC World Cup