First Test/ Japan 12 Ireland 44: It was excruciating to watch at times as Ireland yesterday coughed and spluttered before eventually lurching to a victory that will be overshadowed by an insipid team performance.
Four tries against a team shackled so obviously by numerous limitations is a damning indictment. Korea, in a recent World Cup match, crossed the Japanese line five times.
As a contest it was unappetising; as a spectacle it was mind- numbingly dull; the muggy, humid weather at the Nagai soccer stadium in Osaka was a suitably soporific backdrop.
No blame for a lack of atmosphere could be attached to the 17,000 or so unfortunate souls who had paid to witness this morass of errors. There is, after all, little appeal in cheering penalty kicks.
Ireland needed to be patient and precise and work their opportunities. They failed to fulfil any of those remits. The irony is there were many reasonably good individual performances but the team dynamics were appreciably below par.
There is mitigation in that the side hadn't played together before and therefore lacked cohesion, which could not be generated in a handful of training sessions. There was always going to be a certain ring-rust that would undermine the best of intentions, but it doesn't excuse what Ireland offered yesterday.
Japan, for all their honest endeavour, hadn't a scrum or lineout worthy of the name and therefore no consistent platform to try and establish a foothold in the match. If Ireland had not been so generous in the number of turnovers they proffered, the home side could have been looking down the barrel of an annihilation.
Ireland's stand-in head coach, Niall O'Donovan, wasn't about to lambaste players publicly but as the team prepare for next Sunday's second Test in Tokyo, it's reasonable to assume he won't tolerate a repeat.
"I thought they did reasonably well for a team that hadn't played together before," he said. "You're always going to get teething problems.
"There were a lot of unforced errors, a lot of mistakes, and hopefully we can tidy those up for the next day and have a cut. I would expect them, having had this game under their belts, to lift the pace next week. They did look sluggish at times. There were times when we should have been putting away scores with hands and we just didn't do it."
Having supported his players he'll expect them to reciprocate.
Ireland weren't helped by the facial injury sustained by David Humphreys - he went to hospital to have his mouth and jaw X-rayed as a precaution - that forced him to retire. He had looked sharp, making a couple of great breaks, and while his replacement, Jeremy Staunton, kicked beautifully he didn't bring the authority and distribution skills of Humphreys.
Japan's combativeness at the breakdown and referee Nigel Owens's tolerance of the home side's persistent infringing when threatened meant the Irish couldn't get the continuity they craved.
It's an area Ireland will need to address in training. They'll have to be more ruthless in clearing out at rucks and affording Peter Stringer more protection.
The scrumhalf had an indifferent afternoon, making a couple of excellent breaks but looking a little flustered in possession at times. The pack, virtually to a man, excelled as individuals, won all bar one of their own lineouts, several on the opposition throw, and whenever the mood took them, marmalised the Japanese set-pieces.
Matt McCullough and Roger Wilson can be proud of their contributions on their debuts, McCullough offering glimpses of his athleticism and Wilson carrying effectively.
Leo Cullen had an excellent match, as did Alan Quinlan, while Simon Best capped his most prominent display with a try, the virtue of fine support play.
Ireland's backs were completely underused, a pity because Anthony Horgan, Tommy Bowe and Gavin Duffy looked threatening on the morsels that came their way. Bowe grabbed his second try in as many international appearances, showing strength and pace to capitalise on brittle defence. Duffy made a neat outside break before wafting a beautifully weighted overhead pass for Kevin Maggs's try.
The fact Ireland couldn't stockpile the phases meant the backline were rarely given room to manoeuvre. Maggs, winning his 70th cap, led the defence in typically aggressive fashion and along with Johnny O'Connor did most to discourage Japan's enthusiastic counterattacks.
Ireland led 26-9 at the interval, Bowe and Maggs grabbing the tries, while Humphreys and Staunton weighed in with the boot.
Ireland's third try was an appropriate reward for the hard- working Frankie Sheahan, the fourth down to a super thrust from Horgan. Staunton's placed-ball precision kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Japan managed four penalties from outhalf Kyohei Morita and while running some clever lines in broken play didn't provide too much in the way of substance.
Ireland were in a position to empty the bench going into the final quarter, providing an opportunity for Bernard Jackman, Kieran Campbell, David Quinlan and Trevor Hogan to make their debuts.
The scope for improvement is significant as evidenced in an unforced error count that spiralled into the 20s and the disjointed performance.
Next week there will be less mitigation but also the opportunity to atone.
This Ireland team are better individually and collectively. They just need to show it.
Teams and Scorers
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Humphreys pen, 0-3; 8: Humphreys pen, 0-6; 10: Morita pen, 3-6; 14: Bowe try, Humphreys con, 3-13; 23: Morita pen, 6-13; 25: Maggs try, Staunton con, 6-20; 29: Morita pen, 9-20; 32: Staunton pen, 9-23; (40+2): Staunton pen, 9-26. Half-time: 9-26. 47: Morita pen, 12-26; 50: Staunton pen, 12-29; 53: Staunton pen, 12-32; 57: Sheahan try, 12-37; 69: Best try, Staunton con, 12-44.
JAPAN: G Tachikawa; D Ohata, R -Parkinson, Y Motoki, H Mizuno; K Morita, W Murata; H Takashi, K Tsukagoshi, R Yamamura; T Kumagae, J Washington; H Makiri, R Asano, T Miuchi (capt). Replacements: S Takagi for Yamamura, K Kasai for Takahashi (both 54 mins); S Goto for Murata, T Makai for Asano (both 62 mins); T Tomioka for Motoki (73 mins); H Ono for Parkinson (75 mins).
IRELAND: G Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster); T Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), G Duffy (NEC Harlequins), K Maggs (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), A Horgan (Cork Constitution/Munster); D Humphreys (Dungannon/Ulster, capt), P Stringer (Shannon/Munster); M Horan (Shannon/Munster), F Sheahan (Cork Constitution/Munster), S Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster); L Cullen (Leicester), M McCullough (Ballymena/Ulster); A Quinlan (Shannon/Munster), J O'Connor (Wasps), R Wilson (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster).
Replacements: J Staunton (Wasps) for Humphreys (22 mins); B Jackman (Clontarf/Leinster) for Sheahan, R Corrigan (Greystones/Leinster) for Horan, T Hogan (Shannon/Munster) for Cullen, K Campbell (Dungannon/Ulster) for Stringer (all 70 mins); D Quinlan (Northampton) for Maggs (72 mins); E Miller (Terenure College/Leinster) for O'Connor (77 mins).
YELLOW CARD: D Ohata (Japan) 57-67 mins.
Referee: N Owens (Wales)
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