Ireland player ratings v Japan: Breakdown monster Jack Conan did what he always does

Michael Cleary takes a closer look at how Ireland performed during their victory over Japan

BREAKDOWN MONSTER: Japan's Harry Hocking tackles Ireland's Jack Conan. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

15 – Jamie Osborne

Mr Reliable for Ireland, switching back to the position he filled so well during the Six Nations, Osborne did what had to be done, hanging in there and bringing his educated left boot into play. 6

14 – Jimmy O’Brien

Ireland didn’t manage to create too much on the wide flanks so O’Brien had to go looking for space and openings, chasing hard and still showing in the latter stages as Ireland closed out the win. 6

13 – Robbie Henshaw

It might sound odd for a man of Henshaw’s experience but this was an opportunity to show that he is still very much to the forefront of Farrell’s thinking for a starting place. Barrelled through for a short-range try although failed to cling on to a difficult pass from a promising situation. 6

12 – Stuart McCloskey

Mr Trucker-up, the Ulster centre struck to his task of laying down the foundations for his side, offering himself for the heavy plays in midfield, an invaluable asset. Two silly penalties conceded though. 6

11 – Jacob Stockdale

Few openings but ran strongly through the Japan defence when the ball did come his way. Stockdale was also alert in his defensive clear-up roles, sweeping round on to deflected balls. 6 

10 – Ciaran Frawley

Jittery and out of sorts, failing to settle, failing to convince. A spurned opportunity. The Connacht-bound Frawley knew that this was a chance to show that he should be the out-half through to RWC27. Nerves saw too many errors in his play with blocked kicks and a conversion blob. 5

Ireland's Ciaran Frawley challenges for the high ball against Japan's Dylan Riley and Kazuma Ueda. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady.

9 – Craig Casey

The start that Casey was desperate to make did not yield what he wanted, a clear-cut sign that he could read and boss the game. Casey did not truly manage to force himself onto proceedings, apart from one terrific try-saving on Japan’s Sam Greene. 6

1 – Tom O’Toole

Eddie Jones reckoned that Japan’s scrum would fancy a crack at Ireland, grist to the mill for O’Toole and his mates. The loosehead was on the scoresheet and helped the Irish scrum take the strain. 5

2 – Ronan Kelleher

No celebratory party for Kelleher. It was 50 up for Ireland’s regular understudy, reward for patience and perseverance, but the hooker was soon shaken out of any upbeat vibes when an overthrow led to Japan’s first try. Lineout woes continued throughout. 4

3 – Thomas Clarkson

A tough shift at the coal-face as Ireland battled to repair their wobbly platform up-front. Clarkson kept his shoulder to the wheel but it was a holding operation. 5

4 – Tadhg Beirne (capt)

A leader in all but name down the years, Beirne finally got the honour from the start, making sure there was no panic when Ireland got off to such a terrible start. There was plenty of Beirne’s canny play on show in the loose exchanges but it was a challenging night in Newcastle for all those in green. 6

5 – James Ryan

A sloppy delivery to his scrum-half at one line-out encapsulated Ireland’s difficulties at the set-piece. There will have to be a step-up next week against New Zealand. Ryan stuck at the task, though, with one walloping cover tackle. 6

6 – Jack Conan

A breakdown monster, Conan did what he always does, even when switching to the blindside, grafting and asking no favour, winning important turnover ball for Ireland. 7

7 – Nick Timoney

Timoney has had to kick his heels and his relish in getting a start showed in his engaging play, putting in his tackles, running hard with ball in hand and getting reward with a robust drive for a try. 7

8 – Sean Jansen

A very promising debut. It was audition time for one of Connacht’s finest, Jansen was one of four new caps in the match-day squad but the only one to start and he made the most of it, hitting hard in the tackle, showing great support on one up-field break, capped with a try. 7

Replacements

It was the familiar sight of Bundee Aki coming off the bench early in the second-half to provide reassurance and direction to what had been a shaky performance. Aki lent presence as well as plenty of go-forward, especially in the build-up to the Jansen try.

There was plenty to admire in the contributions from the rest of the bench with the three debutant replacements getting valuable time on the field. The Connacht props, Sam Illo and Billy Bohan, knuckled down while Bryn Ward also made himself known.

Nathan Doak didn’t get that much time on the field but enough to spot a gap to put the impressive Tom Stewart over for the final try. 7.