Japan vs Ireland – Nations Championship 2026 Match Preview

Both Japan and Ireland come into the second round of the Nations Championship 2026 off the back of opening-round wins, and although this match is a “home game” for the Brave Blossoms, the fixture will be played at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, Australia, on Saturday, July 11th.

Feature Photo Credit –  Nations Championship

Ireland are ranked third in the world, and the Japanese are 12th. Japan have only ever beaten the Irish once – famously at the pool stage at Rugby World Cup 2019. Only Michael Leitch is in the matchday squad for Japan from that win.

This will be Eddie Jones’s first game back from his suspension, and he has done something we have rarely seen in his second tenure as Brave Blossoms Head Coach, and that’s select mostly the same team two Tests in a row. 14 players that started and defeated Italy in the opening round start again, and the same players are selected among the reserves.

On the left wing, 1-cap Taira Main from BlackRams Tokyo replaces Kippei Ishida. He had a good season, scoring 8 tries for his team in the JRLO, though he usually played at fullback.

The exciting partnership between Naoto Saito at scrumhalf and fly-half Ryunosuke Ito has a crack at one of the best teams in the world. The 21-year-old and university student Ito impressed in the win over Italy.

Fullback Takuro Matsunaga was the highest points scorer across the entire Nations Championship with his haul of 17 points.

Jones said he was “really looking forward to putting in a winning performance. You look at the history of the games between Japan and Ireland, Japan’s only won the one game, which was at the home World Cup. So this is a great opportunity for this young team to put their name in history, and that’s what we want to do.”

Hooker Mamoru Harada, who heads back to play in Japan after playing with Moana Pasifika, said that “The team is in a great mood after beating Italy. We had to travel this week, but we had two really good practice sessions. I think we have a chance to beat the world’s 3rd ranked team, so it all comes down to how well we prepare in the next two days.”

There are three Australian-born matchday members in the squad: Harry Hockings, Michael Stolberg, and Sam Greene – who will play the Wallabies, in Australia. The venue is the same at which Japan will face Samoa in Rugby World Cup 2027.

Photo Credit – JRFU – Japan beat Italy in Round 1 of the Nations Championship

Ireland are on a 5-match win streak, and Head Coach Andy Farrell has selected Tadhg Beirne to captain for the first time from the start, with four players set to make their Ireland debuts in Newcastle; number 8 Sean Jansen starts, with Billy Bohan, Sam Illo and Ulster back row Bryn Ward all among the reserves.

The side sees several changes, including positional, compared to the team which beat Australia last week. Among them are a new half-back pairing with Craig Casey and Ciaran Frawley selected.

Hooker Rónan Kelleher will play his 50th Test for Ireland.

Photo Credit – Nations Championship – Ireland beat Australia in Round 1

Match Permutations

• Japan will move into the world’s top 10 for the first time since July 2023 if they beat Ireland and if both Italy and Wales lose
• Even if they lose, Japan could still rise to 11th if Wales lose to Los Pumas.
• Ireland cannot improve their rating with a win, unless they win and New Zealand lose to Italy, which will see them climb to second.
• If Ireland lose and if France defeat Australia & if the margin in at least one of the matches exceeds 15 points, Ireland will drop a place
• They could drop an additional place if Scotland beat hosts South Africa with both games decided by margins of more than 15 points.

Match Officials: Japan vs Ireland –  Nations Championship

• Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
• Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
• Assistant Referee 2: Morné Ferreira (SARU)
• TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
• FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

Japan Brave Blossoms Squad vs Ireland – 2026 Nations Championship

You can see more about the squad selection here.

Starting XV

1. Takato Okabe (Yokohama Canon Eagles / 9 caps)
2. Mamoru Harada (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo / 13 caps)
3. Shuhei Takeuchi (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath / 25 caps)
4. Harry Hockings (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath / 3 caps)
5. Warner Dearns (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo / 33 caps) – Captain
6. Ben Gunter (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights / 18 caps)
7. Kanji Shimokawa (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath / 24 caps)
8. Jack Cornelsen (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights / 30 caps)
9. Naoto Saito (Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath / 29 caps)
10. Ryunosuke Ito (Meiji University / 1 cap)
11. Taira Main (Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo / 1 cap)
12. Yuya Hirose (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay / 6 caps)
13. Dylan Riley (Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights / 39 caps)
14. Kazuma Ueda (Kobelco Kobe Steelers / 3 caps)
15. Matsunaga Takuro (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo / 6 caps)

Replacements

18. Era Hayate (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay / 7 caps)
19. Otsuka Sojiro (Kwansei Gakuin University / 1 cap)
10. Tamesa Keijiro (Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay / 21 caps)
11. Michael Stoverg (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo / 1 cap)
22. Leitch Michael (Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo / 93 caps)
21. Tienan Costley (Kobelco Kobe Steelers / 12 caps)
22. Juki Uemura (Kobelco Kobe Steelers / 1 cap)
23. Sam Green (Shizuoka Blue Revs* / 6 caps)

*He has left the team after the JRLO season ended.

Japan will face France in Tokyo on July 18 to complete the first half of the Nations Championship.

Ireland Squad vs Japan – 2026 Nations Championship

The Ireland squad was announced and can be seen here.

Starting XV

15. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster – 16 caps)
14. Jimmy O’Brien (Naas/Leinster – 12 caps)
13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster – 84 caps)
12. Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster – 29 caps)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster – 42 caps)
10. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster – 13 caps)
9. Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster – 28 caps)

1. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster – 22 caps)
2. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster – 49 caps)
3. Thomas Clarkson (Blackrock College/Leinster – 14 caps)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster- 71 caps) Captain
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster – 81 caps)
6. Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster – 60 caps)
7. Nick Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster – 12 caps)
8. Sean Jansen (Connacht)*

Replacements:

16. Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster 5 caps)
17. Billy Bohan (Corinthians/Connacht)*
18. Sam Illo (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
19. Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch/Ulster – 4 caps)
20. Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*
21. Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster – 1 cap)
22. Harry Byrne (Lansdowne/Leinster – 4 caps)
23. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht – 70 caps)

* uncapped

How To Watch the World Rugby Nations Championship 2026?

You can check with World Rugby Nations Championship 2026 about broadcast and streaming options in your region.

Nations Championship Rugby News 2026

• Understanding The Nations Championship 2026.
• Brave Blossoms Beat Italy for The First Time Since 2018 to Open Nations Championship 2026.
• Japan vs Italy – Nations Championship 2026 Match Preview.
• Brave Blossoms 2026 Home Tests and Venues Confirmed.