Schmidt: Workaholic Ryan makes the game easier for teammates

Joe Schmidt has spoken of his admiration for “workaholic” James Ryan as Ireland headed deep into the Japanese countryside to stay cocooned ahead of the World Cup clash with the hosts in Shizuoka on Saturday.

The Ireland squad travelled south on the Shinkansen, or bullet train, from Yokohama yesterday, to a mountain retreat described as a modern-day castle in order to prepare out of the spotlight for their meeting with the Brave Blossoms at the 50,889-capacity Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.