Ireland will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to the All Blacks in emphatic fashion when the host the Brave Blossoms at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Saturday 8 November
Ireland | Draw | Japan
Handicap
Ireland | Japan
In their 13-26 loss to New Zealand last week, Andy Farrell’s side did little to shake the widely held belief that his ageing squad, once an undeniable challenger for the mantle of world’s best, are on the decline with little to no clearcut replacements lined up.
The likes of Bundee Aki, Jack Conan, Garry Ringrose and Tadhg Beirne may all be Irish legends and household names the rugby world over, but the reality is that Father Time is approaching them rapidly now, and Farrell’s reluctance to blood genuine replacements within his wider squad is hampering their progression, and arguably already has.
That said, they do perhaps deserve some slack regarding that latest outing against the ABs given the amount of British & Irish Lions they have in their squad yet to truly hit their stride this season given their lack of gametime.
Couple that with the absolutely farcical 20-minute red card Beirne received that has sparked heated debate once more around the game’s overcorrection in relation to player safety, with Beauden Barrett, the very player on the receiving end of the Munster forward’s “dangerous hit”, coming out and saying he couldn’t understand how the yellow was upgraded. (Side note: Beaudy B, what a class act).
All that said, there is surely no better place to start building that all-important player depth than in this clash with Japan, against whom the Springboks scored 61-points last week. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Farrell fielding a number of up-and-comers this Saturday as the proverbial old guard take something of a backseat in what should be a very comfortable Irish victory at the Aviva Stadium.
On the other side of the fence, the uber-confident comments made by Eddie Jones, and even skipper Warner Deans to a lesser extent, in the build-up to the Bok match were made to look ridiculous as they were hammered at Wembley.
As expected, the Brave Blossoms were simply blown away by the South Africans’ aerial and physical assaults, and while they may have slightly more success in Dublin, it would be a big surprise not to see them be put away in a similarly decisive manner.
Verdict: Ireland on the minus
Ireland to canter to a comfortable win over the Japanese.
