Humphreys expected to start despite first Test injury

Ireland Tour of Japan: It's immaterial what team Ireland's stand-in head coach Niall O'Donovan announces ahead of Sunday's second Test at the Prince Chichibu rugby stadium in Tokyo because alterations won't necessarily reflect what happened in the first encounter against Japan in Osaka last weekend.

Prior to the start of the tour, O'Donovan expressed the hope that all 26 players would get some game time and today he's likely to fulfil that remit by including in the match squad the only four players yet to tog out.

Denis Leamy, David Wallace and the uncapped duo of Kieran Lewis and Conor McPhillips should all be included when Sunday's participants are confirmed. The players whom they replace won't necessarily have played badly the last day at the Nagai stadium; it's principally expediency driven. The conundrum for O'Donovan and his assistants Mark McCall and Michael Bradley is whether to use Sunday as an opportunity to make positional as well as personnel switches.

Leamy and Wallace are likely to come into the backrow while Eric Miller, a replacement the last day, may also start giving that aspect of the team a completely new look. Wholesale changes are certainly not a necessity and would probably be counterproductive as it would mean trying to fast-track the gelling process of another scratch team by virtue of a few training sessions.

Bearing this in mind, the front five of the pack may remain unaltered, although it would appear strange to bring Reggie Corrigan all the way to Japan to have him start on the bench in two Test matches. The pack, by and large, did well individually and collectively they dominated the set pieces when they had a mind to hustle their Japanese counterparts.

The backrow did give away five penalties between them and there has to be a greater emphasis and ruthlessness in clearing out the loiterers at ruck time, as the legendary commentator Bill McLaren was wont to say. Ireland also need to bring to bear the athleticism of their pack. Matt McCullough and Leo Cullen were very good in carrying ball the last day and beating the first up tackler. Marcus Horan could be lethal if released in the same vein.

The halfbacks are likely to be the same combination that started the game, captain David Humphreys' blow to the mouth is not likely to keep him sidelined.

The serious nature of the damage he suffered to his teeth is reflected in the fact that his food has had to be liquidised for the past few days. The injury sustained in making a tackle was a cruel blow as he had started the match superbly and seemed determined to lay down a marker for the days ahead. The composition of the three-quarter line will be largely dependent on whether O'Donovan opts to start Lewis and McPhillips.

The latter is primarily a wing while Lewis's preferred position would be at outside centre. If there are changes to the backline it won't be attributable to performance the last day because they simply did not get enough possession to really test the opposing defence.

Tommy Bowe or Gavin Duffy could potentially be shifted to fullback while David Quinlan might get more than eight minutes at inside centre. The chances are that there won't be too many alterations to the starting line-up, a tweak here and there and a little shuffling of the playing personnel on the replacements bench.

There is a general air of disappointment that last Sunday's display wasn't of the requisite standard and a resolution in training this week to rectify that shortcoming. The quiet, sedate delights of Osaka have been replaced by the neon hustle of Toyko. This week the team hotel is closer to the hub of the city in which they are billeted and while their base is not as salubrious it offers different distractions. Last night the Ireland party spent a couple of hours at the Irish ambassador's residence; tomorrow, on a day off, sightseeing is on the agenda.

Japan have their own problems on and off the pitch. The New Zealand-born Philip O'Reilly was suspended for allegedly punching three people in a street fight in Tokyo's Roppongi district in May, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced on Saturday.

The JRFU said it was suspending O'Reilly for what it called inappropriate behaviour.

The 24-year-old forward was arrested for allegedly beating up three people, including a 26-year-old staff member of a nightclub, but the player has denied hitting anyone.