Ireland beat Japan 43-19 as McInerney and Barrett score on debut

Ireland beat Japan 43-19 at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Saturday, scoring seven tries to secure a second consecutive victory over the visitors. According to BBC Sport's match report, Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett both scored on their debuts after coming off the bench, completing a win in which Ireland had led 22-7 at half-time.

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The result followed Ireland's 31-24 victory over Japan in Galway the previous weekend in the WXV Global Series. Scott Bemand's side had opened their autumn programme with a 40-36 loss to the United States at Tallaght Stadium. They now head to South Africa for two WXV matches with back-to-back wins behind them.

Japan struck first in Cork after Ireland conceded a series of early penalties. Sakurako Korai scored from close range after five minutes, while Emily Lane subsequently had an apparent Ireland try disallowed for an earlier infringement. Eilis Cahill then finished a sustained Irish attack, and Dannah O'Brien's conversion brought the teams level.

A yellow card for Masami Kawamura gave Ireland a numerical advantage, which Brittany Hogan used to add their second try. Neve Jones followed with another score after a maul, before Anna McGann reached the line following a break by Niamh Gallagher and a pass from Erin King. Those four first-half tries established Ireland's 15-point interval lead.

Beibhinn Parsons added Ireland's fifth try two minutes into the second half, taking her national record tally to 25. O'Brien converted, but Japan responded with two tries of their own. Teenager Nami Asari scored for the second successive week, and Nijiho Nagata finished from a maul as the visitors cut the margin to 10 points.

Japan's recovery was interrupted when Maiko Nishi received a yellow card for head-to-head contact with King. McInerney then broke through attempted tackles to score near the posts, giving Ireland another try from a player making her first appearance. The hosts had withstood Japan's second-half response and moved clear again.

Barrett supplied the final try after the clock had passed 80 minutes, picking up the ball and crossing from close range. Enya Breen's conversion completed the 24-point winning margin. Ireland finished with seven different try-scorers, while O'Brien and Breen each contributed two conversions; Japan's three tries were supplemented by two Nishi conversions.