2017 Ireland rugby union tour of Japan
# 2017 Ireland rugby union tour of Japan

In June 2017, Ireland played a two-test series against Japan as part of the 2017 mid-year rugby union tests. It was the first time Ireland had played a test series against Japan in Japan since 2005. The series was part of the fifth year of the global rugby calendar established by the International Rugby Board, which runs through to 2019.

## Fixtures

| Date and time | Venue | Home | Score | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 June 2017, 14:00 JST (UTC+09) | Shizuoka Stadium, Shizuoka | Japan | 22–50 | Ireland |
| 24 June 2017, 14:40 JST (UTC+09) | Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo | Japan | 13–35 | Ireland |

## Squads

Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 17 June, the first test match of the tour.

### Ireland

On 16 May 2017, Joe Schmidt named a 31-man squad for the 2017 Summer Tour. On 22 May, Connacht lock Quinn Roux was added to the squad. On 31 May, Tommy O'Donnell was ruled out of the tour due to an ankle injury. Following an ankle injury sustained in the test against the United States, fly-half Joey Carbery was ruled out of the remainder of the tour. Ulster's Sean Reidy was also called up to replace Tommy O'Donnell.

Coaching team:

* Head coach: Joe Schmidt
* Skills coach: Girvan Dempsey & Felix Jones
* Forwards coach: Simon Easterby

| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Dave Heffernan | Hooker | (1991-01-01) 1 January 1991 (age 32) | 1 | Connacht |
| Niall Scannell | Hooker | (1992-04-08) 8 April 1992 (age 31) | 5 | Munster |
| James Tracy | Hooker | (1991-04-02) 2 April 1991 (age 32) | 2 | Leinster |
| Finlay Bealham | Prop | (1991-10-09) 9 October 1991 (age 31) | 6 | Connacht |
| Cian Healy | Prop | (1987-10-07) 7 October 1987 (age 35) | 68 | Leinster |
| Dave Kilcoyne | Prop | (1988-12-14) 14 December 1988 (age 34) | 18 | Munster |
| Andrew Porter | Prop | (1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 (age 27) | 1 | Leinster |
| John Ryan | Prop | (1988-08-02) 2 August 1988 (age 34) | 7 | Munster |
| Quinn Roux | Lock | (1990-10-30) 30 October 1990 (age 32) | 2 | Connacht |
| James Ryan | Lock | (1996-07-24) 24 July 1996 (age 27) | 1 | Leinster |
| Devin Toner | Lock | (1986-06-29) 29 June 1986 (age 37) | 48 | Leinster |
| Kieran Treadwell | Lock | (1995-11-06) 6 November 1995 (age 27) | 0 | Ulster |
| Dan Leavy | Flanker | (1994-05-23) 23 May 1994 (age 29) | 3 | Leinster |
| Tommy O'Donnell | Flanker | (1987-06-21) 21 June 1987 (age 36) | 12 | Munster |
| Sean Reidy | Flanker | (1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 (age 34) | 1 | Ulster |
| Rhys Ruddock (c) | Flanker | (1990-11-13) 13 November 1990 (age 32) | 14 | Leinster |
| Josh van der Flier | Flanker | (1993-04-25) 25 April 1993 (age 30) | 8 | Leinster |
| Jack Conan | Number 8 | (1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 30) | 2 | Leinster |
| Jack O'Donoghue | Number 8 | (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 29) | 1 | Munster |
| John Cooney | Scrum-half | (1990-05-01) 1 May 1990 (age 33) | 0 | Connacht |
| Kieran Marmion | Scrum-half | (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 (age 31) | 14 | Connacht |
| Luke McGrath | Scrum-half | (1993-02-03) 3 February 1993 (age 30) | 3 | Leinster |
| Joey Carbery | Fly-half | (1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 27) | 4 | Leinster |
| Paddy Jackson | Fly-half | (1992-01-05) 5 January 1992 (age 31) | 23 | Ulster |
| Luke Marshall | Centre | (1991-03-03) 3 March 1991 (age 32) | 10 | Ulster |
| Garry Ringrose | Centre | (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 28) | 9 | Leinster |
| Rory Scannell | Centre | (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 28) | 1 | Munster |
| Andrew Conway | Wing | (1991-07-11) 11 July 1991 (age 32) | 1 | Munster |
| Keith Earls | Wing | (1987-10-02) 2 October 1987 (age 35) | 60 | Munster |
| Rory O'Loughlin | Wing | (1994-01-21) 21 January 1994 (age 29) | 0 | Leinster |
| Jacob Stockdale | Wing | (1996-04-06) 6 April 1996 (age 27) | 1 | Ulster |
| Tiernan O'Halloran | Fullback | (1991-02-26) 26 February 1991 (age 32) | 4 | Connacht |
| Simon Zebo | Fullback | (1990-03-16) 16 March 1990 (age 33) | 34 | Munster |

### Japan

On 29 May, Jamie Joseph named a 33-man squad ahead of their two-test series against Ireland and one-off test match against Romania.

* Head Coach: Jamie Joseph

| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Yusuke Niwai | Hooker | (1991-10-22) 22 October 1991 (age 31) | 1 | Sunwolves |
| Takeshi Hino | Hooker | (1990-01-20) 20 January 1990 (age 33) | 4 | Sunwolves |
| Shota Horie (c) | Hooker | (1986-01-21) 21 January 1986 (age 37) | 50 | Sunwolves |
| Takuma Asahara | Prop | (1987-09-07) 7 September 1987 (age 35) | 6 | Sunwolves |
| Yu Chinen | Prop | (1990-11-18) 18 November 1990 (age 32) | 6 | Toshiba Brave Lupus |
| Shintaro Ishihara | Prop | (1990-06-17) 17 June 1990 (age 33) | 4 | Suntory Sungoliath |
| Keita Inagaki | Prop | (1990-06-02) 2 June 1990 (age 33) | 14 | Sunwolves |
| Heiichiro Ito | Prop | (1990-10-05) 5 October 1990 (age 32) | 5 | Sunwolves |
| Koki Yamamoto | Prop | (1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 32) | 4 | Sunwolves |
| Kyosuke Kajikawa | Lock | (1987-09-05) 5 September 1987 (age 35) | 4 | Sunwolves |
| Uwe Helu | Lock | (1990-07-12) 12 July 1990 (age 33) | 4 | Sunwolves |
| Shinya Makabe | Lock | (1987-03-26) 26 March 1987 (age 36) | 34 | Sunwolves |
| Kotaro Yatabe | Lock | (1986-07-29) 29 July 1986 (age 36) | 13 | Sunwolves |
| Yoshitaka Tokunaga | Flanker | (1992-04-10) 10 April 1992 (age 31) | 5 | Sunwolves |
| Hendrik Tui | Flanker | (1987-12-13) 13 December 1987 (age 35) | 39 | Queensland Reds |
| Michael Leitch | Flanker | (1988-10-07) 7 October 1988 (age 34) | 48 | Chiefs |
| Amanaki Mafi | Number 8 | (1990-01-11) 11 January 1990 (age 33) | 14 | Melbourne Rebels |
| Shuhei Matsuhashi | Number 8 | (1993-11-24) 24 November 1993 (age 29) | 6 | Sunwolves |
| Fumiaki Tanaka | Scrum-half | (1985-01-03) 3 January 1985 (age 38) | 59 | Sunwolves |
| Yutaka Nagare | Scrum-half | (1992-09-04) 4 September 1992 (age 30) | 4 | Sunwolves |
| Keisuke Uchida | Scrum-half | (1992-02-22) 22 February 1992 (age 31) | 22 | Sunwolves |
| Rikiya Matsuda | Fly-half | (1994-05-03) 3 May 1994 (age 29) | 7 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| Jumpei Ogura | Fly-half | (1992-07-11) 11 July 1992 (age 31) | 3 | Sunwolves |
| Yu Tamura | Fly-half | (1989-01-09) 9 January 1989 (age 34) | 43 | Sunwolves |
| Harumichi Tatekawa (c) | Centre | (1989-12-02) 2 December 1989 (age 33) | 51 | Sunwolves |
| Derek Carpenter | Centre | (1988-07-26) 26 July 1988 (age 35) | 1 | Sunwolves |
| Timothy Lafaele | Centre | (1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 (age 31) | 5 | Sunwolves |
| Will Tupou | Centre | (1990-07-20) 20 July 1990 (age 33) | 0 | Sunwolves |
| Shota Emi | Wing | (1991-12-08) 8 December 1991 (age 31) | 0 | Sunwolves |
| Kenki Fukuoka | Wing | (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992 (age 30) | 20 | Sunwolves |
| Akihito Yamada | Wing | (1985-07-26) 26 July 1985 (age 38) | 22 | Panasonic Wild Knights |
| Kotaro Matsushima | Fullback | (1993-02-26) 26 February 1993 (age 30) | 23 | Sunwolves |
| Ryuji Noguchi | Fullback | (1995-07-15) 15 July 1995 (age 28) | 9 | Tokai University |

## Matches

### First Test

* 17 June 2017 14:00 JST (UTC+09)

| Japan | 22–50 | Ireland |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Noguchi 59' c Fukuoka 76' m Nagare 78' c Con: Matsuda (2/3) 60', 79' Pen: Tamura (1/1) 14' | Report | Try: Earls (2) 11' c, 70' m Leavy (2) 24' c, 28' c Conan (2) 30' c, 45' c Ringrose 65' c Con: Jackson (5/5) 12', 25', 29', 32', 46' R. Scannell (1/2) 66' Pen: Jackson (1/1) 6' |

* Shizuoka Stadium, Shizuoka Attendance: 27,381 Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

| FB | 15 | Ryuji Noguchi |
| - | - | - |
| RW | 14 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| OC | 13 | Will Tupou |
| IC | 12 | Derek Carpenter | | 66' |
| LW | 11 | Kenki Fukuoka |
| FH | 10 | Yu Tamura | | 58' |
| SH | 9 | Fumiaki Tanaka | | 54' |
| N8 | 8 | Amanaki Mafi | | 40' |
| OF | 7 | Yoshitaka Tokunaga |
| BF | 6 | Michael Leitch |
| RL | 5 | Uwe Helu | | 54' |
| LL | 4 | Kotaro Yatabe |
| TP | 3 | Heiichiro Ito | 24' to 34' | 58' |
| HK | 2 | Shota Horie (c) | | 54' |
| LP | 1 | Keita Inagaki | | 40' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Yusuke Niwai | | 54' |
| PR | 17 | Shintaro Ishihara | | 40' |
| PR | 18 | Takuma Asahara | | 58' |
| FL | 19 | Hendrik Tui | | 40' |
| N8 | 20 | Shuhei Matsuhashi | | 54' |
| SH | 21 | Yutaka Nagare | | 54' |
| CE | 22 | Ryohei Yamanaka | | 66' |
| FB | 23 | Rikiya Matsuda | | 58' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Simon Zebo | | 40' |
| RW | 14 | Andrew Conway | 51' to 61' |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose | | 67' |
| IC | 12 | Rory Scannell |
| LW | 11 | Keith Earls |
| FH | 10 | Paddy Jackson | | 61' |
| SH | 9 | Luke McGrath | | |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Conan | | 75' |
| OF | 7 | Dan Leavy | | 53' | 58' |
| BF | 6 | Rhys Ruddock (c) | | | | 63' | 72' |
| RL | 5 | Devin Toner | | 61' |
| LL | 4 | Quinn Roux |
| TP | 3 | John Ryan | | 61' | 78' |
| HK | 2 | Niall Scannell | | 54' |
| LP | 1 | Cian Healy | | 58' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | James Tracy | | 54' |
| PR | 17 | Dave Kilcoyne | | 58' |
| PR | 18 | Finlay Bealham | | 61' | 78' |
| LK | 19 | Kieran Treadwell | | 61' |
| N8 | 20 | Jack O'Donoghue | | 53' | 58' | 63' | 72' | 75' |
| SH | 21 | Kieran Marmion | | 67' |
| WG | 22 | Rory O'Loughlin | | 61' |
| FB | 23 | Tiernan O'Halloran | | 40' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||

* Touch judges:
* JP Doyle (England)
* Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* Television match official:
* Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Notes:

* Will Tupou (Japan) and Kieran Treadwell and Rory O'Loughlin (both Ireland) made their international debuts.

### Second Test

* 24 June 2017 14:40 JST (UTC+09)

| Japan | 13–35 | Ireland |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Matsushima 23' m Yamada 61' m Pen: Ogura (1/1) 14' | Report | Try: Ringrose 2' c van der Flier 10' c Marmion 16' c Ruddock 30' c Reidy 77' c Con: Jackson (5/5) 3', 11', 18', 31', 78' |

* Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo Attendance: 29,354 Referee: JP Doyle (England)

| FB | 15 | Ryuji Noguchi | 67' |
| - | - | - | - |
| RW | 14 | Akihito Yamada |
| OC | 13 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| IC | 12 | Yu Tamura |
| LW | 11 | Kenki Fukuoka |
| FH | 10 | Jumpei Ogura | 40' |
| SH | 9 | Yutaka Nagare | 52' |
| N8 | 8 | Amanaki Mafi |
| OF | 7 | Shuhei Matsuhashi | 67' |
| BF | 6 | Michael Leitch (c) |
| RL | 5 | Uwe Helu | 63' |
| LL | 4 | Luke Thompson |
| TP | 3 | Takuma Asahara | 40' |
| HK | 2 | Yusuke Niwai | 40' |
| LP | 1 | Shintaro Ishihara | 47' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Shota Horie | 40' |
| PR | 17 | Keita Inagaki | 47' |
| PR | 18 | Takayuki Watanabe | 40' |
| LK | 19 | Kotaro Yatabe | 63' |
| FL | 20 | Yoshitaka Tokunaga | 67' |
| SH | 21 | Fumiaki Tanaka | 52' |
| FH | 22 | Rikiya Matsuda | 40' |
| CE | 23 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 67' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Andrew Conway |
| RW | 14 | Keith Earls | 54' |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose | 78' |
| IC | 12 | Luke Marshall |
| LW | 11 | Jacob Stockdale |
| FH | 10 | Paddy Jackson |
| SH | 9 | Kieran Marmion | 72' |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Conan |
| OF | 7 | Josh van der Flier | | | 67' |
| BF | 6 | Rhys Ruddock (c) | 54' | 60' |
| RL | 5 | Devin Toner |
| LL | 4 | Kieran Treadwell | 51' |
| TP | 3 | John Ryan | 60' |
| HK | 2 | James Tracy | 51' |
| LP | 1 | Cian Healy | 60' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Niall Scannell | 51' |
| PR | 17 | Dave Kilcoyne | 60' |
| PR | 18 | Andrew Porter | 60' |
| LK | 19 | James Ryan | 51' |
| FL | 20 | Sean Reidy | 54' | 60' | 67' |
| SH | 21 | John Cooney | 72' |
| FH | 22 | Rory Scannell | 78' |
| FB | 23 | Tiernan O'Halloran | 54' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||

* Touch judges:
* Mathieu Raynal (France)
* Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* Television match official:
* Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Notes:

* John Cooney (Ireland) made his international debut.
* Michael Leitch (Japan) and Devin Toner (Ireland) earned their 50th test caps.

## Statistics

Key

* Con: Conversions
* Pen: Penalties
* DG: Drop goals
* Pts: Points
