Joe Schmidt makes six changes for Ireland’s clash with Japan

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made six changes from the starting XV that beat USA 55-19 for Saturday's first test against Japan (kick-off 6.0am Irish time) at the Ecopa stadium in the province of Honshu.

Josh van der Flier, who is fit and even spoke to the travelling Irish media on Tuesday about this fixture, is replaced at openside by Dan Leavy.

Van der Flier will not feature at all as Jack O’Donoghue gets an opportunity from the bench despite a mixed season for Munster when he didn’t feature in the biggest matches.

Only Garry Ringorse and Keith Earls are retained in the backline but Simon Zebo shakes off wear and tear to return at fullback.

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Andrew Conway will win his second cap at right wing, Rory Scannell comes in for Luke Marshall at 12 and Luke McGrath is preferred over Kieran Marmion at scrumhalf.

Marshall (sore foot) was the only injury concern; the Ulster centre does not make the match day squad.

The game will marks first international starts for Conway, Scannell and McGrath.

Jet lag

Considering rising temperatures and increased humidity in Japan this weekend, coupled with ongoing jet lag issues following the 14 hour direct flight from New York to Tokyo, and the team’s only full training run being this morning, Ireland are facing a massive challenge against Jamie Joseph’s Brave Blossoms.

“Preparations have been brief, pretty brief,” said Schmidt. “The work rate in training today was really good because I think the players are very conscious that it is the only training we will get this week, so they wanted to make sure that they got as much clarity and got a bit of rhythm as best they could.

“It wasn’t perfect, and it seldom is, but hopefully we will be a little more cohesive by the time we kick off on Saturday.

“Trying to acclimatise has been very difficult,” he continued. “We did have the advantage of playing in very hot temperatures in New Jersey last weekend but we left the hotel on Sunday morning and by the time we arrived here it was Monday night.

“You are very jumbled from the different time zones and so that has taken a toll but it certainly won’t be considered than anything other than an imposition in the early part of the week and by the end of the week we have to make sure we are ready to go.”

The recovery process has been extremely difficult with players waking up in the middle of the night and being shattered after a full day in Schmidt’s notoriously demanding environment.

Inexperience

James Tracy, Finlay Bealham, along with uncapped duo Kieran Treadwell and Rory O’Loughlin are also added to the match day squad as replacements.

The team, led by Rhys Ruddock, has a total of 280 caps - 176 of them divvied up between Devin Toner, Cian Healy and Keith Earls - which averages less than 19 appearances per man.

"I think we have some injured guys at home might otherwise have been with us," Schmidt continued in reference to laid up veterans Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip, Sean Cronin and even Jordi Murphy. "They would have added a bit of guidance and experience, some of them have played here before, but I think it is a great opportunity to learn who can adapt and who can adapt the fastest because some of these players are being thrown in the deep end and I have to say the coaching staff are looking forward to seeing how they go.

“They have worked hard away from the pitch to make sure they get themselves as organised as possible and hopefully that is apparent on Saturday.”

Meanwhile Joseph has made five changes from the side that beat Romania 33-21 last Saturday with Auckland born former-Australian rugby league centre William Tupou winning his first cap in midfield beside Samoan Timothy Lafaele.

28-year-old New Zealand-born flanker Michael Leitch, a regular for the Chiefs in Super Rugby, is supported by Tongan number eight Amanaki Mafi in a menacing backrow, while Fumiaki Tanaka is a proven scrumhalf in Super Rugby with the Highlanders and more recently the Sunwolves.

Ireland: S Zebo; A Conway, G Ringrose, R Scannell, K Earls; P Jackson, L McGrath; C Healy, N Scannell, J Ryan; Q Roux, D Toner; R Ruddock (capt), D Leavy, J Conan. Replacements: J Tracy, D Kilcoyne, F Bealham, K Treadwell, J O'Donoghue, K Marmion, R O'Loughlin, T O'Halloran.

Japan: Ryuji Noguchi; Kotaro Matsushima, William Tupou, Timothy Lafaele, Kenki Fukuoka; Yu Tamura, Fumiaki Tanaka; Keita Inagaki, Shota Horie, Heiichiro Ito; Kotaro Yatabe, Uwe Helu; Michael Leitch (capt), Yoshitaka Tokanuga, Amanaki Mafi. Replacements: Yusuke Niwai, Shintaro Ishihara, Takuma Asahara, Hendrik Tui, Shuhei Matsuhashi, Yutake Nagare, Derek Carpenter, Rikiya Matsuda