Ireland v Japan: A restlessness has permeated the Ireland travelling party, as befits a squad of predominately fledgling talent desperate for the proving ground of the Test arena. The training routine has been observed without complaint and while the players have been periodically distracted by cultural asides, tomorrow really can't come quickly enough.
The absence of 12 first-choice Ireland players called for duty with the Lions in New Zealand means an opportunity for fringe players and those hoping to begin international careers here in Osaka. The Irish management, led by stand-in head coach Niall O'Donovan, have impressed upon the players the importance of not alone winning but also maintaining standards.
Eddie O'Sullivan may be in New Zealand but it wouldn't require dusting this Irish team sheet to uncover his fingerprints.
The team's structure is clearly defined: an experienced backbone fleshed out by promising young players whose aptitude for Test rugby is about to be tested.
Roger Wilson and Matt McCullough make their debuts in a pack with enough streetwise operators to cushion the Ulster duo's first steps in the Test arena.
They are there on merit, having been introduced to the senior panel during the Six Nations Championship, not in a playing capacity but to allow them to acclimatise to the elite regimen.
Wilson has shown a toughness that belies his 23 years, a quality he shares with McCullough.
They both enjoy the hard graft and the rough and tumble of forward play but also bring athleticism and footballing nous.
McCullough will have an integral role out of touch but will be hoping to contribute more than just set-piece adequacy.
Wilson, Ireland's number eight, relishes the responsibility of ball carrying and he'll be hoping to see plenty of ball to do just that. The hallmark of the back five is pace.
Up front Marcus Horan and Simon Best shouldn't be overly extended at scrum time but will be expected to contribute around the pitch. Frankie Sheahan and Leo Cullen will undertake the less glamorous duties, as is their wont.
Ireland will be expected to dominate their opponents up front, keeping control of the football and ensuring Japan are forced into extended passages of tackling. The visitors will attack their opponents' set-pieces and look to make use of their physical and technical superiority.
The weather forecast is for heavy rain, a legacy of a typhoon that's expected to miss Japan over the weekend. This will make the forward exchanges all the more pivotal.
The Japanese pack is led by Takuro Miuchi at number eight, who has guided his country in the last 17 Tests and as captain in 19 of the 24 caps he's won.
Included in a pack that shows just a single alteration to the side that lost the Toshiba Super Cup final against Canada 15-10 last month - Hare Makiri is introduced at blindside flanker - is the 6ft 5in Australian-born second row Jamie Washington, who wins his seventh cap.
The other changes are at fullback, where Goshi Tachikawa is promoted from the replacements, and the return of 37-year-old scrumhalf Wataru Murata, who won the first of his 32 caps against Scotland in 1991.
Reuben Parkinson, born in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, is named in the centre but the one man the crowd would love to see plenty of is Daisuke Ohata.
The Japanese rugby icon (44 caps and their record try scorer) may be small in stature but possesses blistering pace and has graced many a Test arena. He has played and scored against Ireland in the past.
The "Brave Blossoms", as the national side are known locally, have struggled of late, losing to not alone Canada but also Argentina (68-36) and Uruguay (24-18) on a South American tour, beating South Korea 50-31 in a World Cup qualifier and edging past a severely depleted Romania in the Toshiba Cup, 23-16.
Their patterns resemble those of a college side back home: run from everywhere to compensate for a lack of grunt. One thing assured is they are lethal on the counterattack and care not whether it's from their 22 or that of their opponents.
Ireland will expect to exert control through their pack and then allow the halfback combination of Peter Stringer and captain David Humphreys to vary their game. Gavin Duffy and Tommy Bowe are two young players who have been given the scope to offer further evidence of their abilities. This game cannot just be about winning.
If Ireland purport to be a top- tier nation then beating the 17th-ranked team in world rugby is a given. Tomorrow's match is an examination of standards, a chance to determine to some extent the depth of the pool of talent and which players have the ability and the aptitude to narrow the gap on absent colleagues.
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: M Nakabayashi, K Kasai, S Takagi, H Ono, S Goto, T Nakai, T Tomioka.
IRELAND: G Dempsey (Leinster); T Bowe (Ulster), G Duffy (NEC Harlequins), K Maggs (Ulster), A Horgan (Munster); D Humphreys (Ulster) capt, P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), F Sheahan (Munster); S Best (Ulster); L Cullen (Leicester), M McCullough (Ulster); A Quinlan (Munster), J O'Connor (Wasps), R Wilson (Ulster). Replacements: B Jackman (Leinster), R Corrigan (Leinster), T Hogan (Munster), E Miller (Leinster), K Campbell (Ulster), J Staunton (Wasps), D Quinlan (Northampton).
Referee: N Owens (Wales).
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