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Japan Rugby vs. Ireland Rugby Lineups And Kickoff Time

Japan Rugby vs. Ireland Rugby Lineups And Kickoff Time

Japan and Ireland have announced their starting lineups for Round 2 of the Nations Championship. View the complete squads.

Jul 9, 2026 by Joe Harrington
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Highlights: South Africa Springboks vs Ireland Rugby | 2024 Summer Internationals6:05

Japan and Ireland Rugby have announced their lineups for Saturday's Round 2 Nations Championship matchup as the Brave Blossoms look to build on an impressive opening-weekend victory and Ireland aims to remain unbeaten. Japan opened the tournament with a 27-10 win over Italy, while Ireland survived a thrilling test against Australia, earning a 33-31 victory to begin its summer campaign.

Saturday's contest features two teams coming off victories, but Ireland enters as the higher-ranked side. The Irish are No. 3 in the latest World Rugby rankings and have won four of the past five meetings against Japan. The Brave Blossoms, ranked No. 12, will look to add another memorable chapter to the rivalry after upsetting Ireland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Japan turns to an experienced forward pack led by Warner Dearns, Jack Cornelsen and captain Naoto Saito, while Ireland fields a veteran lineup featuring Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Robbie Henshaw and Ronan Kelleher. With both teams carrying momentum into Round 2, the matchup promises to be one of the weekend's most intriguing international fixtures.

Japan Rugby Lineup Vs. Ireland

Starting XV

  1. Takato Okabe
  2. Mamoru Harada
  3. Shuhei Takeuchi
  4. Harry Hockings
  5. Warner Dearns
  6. Ben Gunter
  7. Kanji Shimokawa
  8. Jack Cornelsen
  9. Naoto Saito
  10. Ryunosuke Ito
  11. Taira Main
  12. Yuya Hirose
  13. Dylan Riley
  14. Kazuma Ueda
  15. Takuro Matsunaga

Replacements

  • Hayate Era
  • Sojiro Otsuka
  • Keijiro Tamefusa
  • Michael Stolberg
  • Michael Leitch
  • Tiennan Costley
  • Itsuki Kamimura
  • Sam Greene

Ireland Rugby Lineup Vs. Japan

Starting XV

  1. Tom O'Toole
  2. Ronan Kelleher
  3. Thomas Clarkson
  4. Tadhg Beirne
  5. James Ryan
  6. Jack Conan
  7. Nick Timoney
  8. Sean Jansen
  9. Craig Casey
  10. Ciaran Frawley
  11. Jacob Stockdale
  12. Stuart McCloskey
  13. Robbie Henshaw
  14. Jimmy O'Brien
  15. Jamie Osborne

Replacements

  • Tom Stewart
  • Billy Bohan
  • Sam Illo
  • Cormac Izuchukwu
  • Bryn Ward
  • Nathan Doak
  • Harry Byrne
  • Bundee Aki

Watch Japan Rugby Vs. Ireland Rugby Live

Fans in the United States can watch Japan vs. Ireland live for free on RugbyPass TV and the World Rugby YouTube page.

The match kicks off at 6:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, July 11.

Watch Japan vs Ireland Rugby Live

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Nations Championship Fixtures & Schedule

  • Saturday, July 11, 1:10 a.m. ET — New Zealand vs. Italy
  • Saturday, July 11, 3:40 a.m. ET — Australia vs. France
  • Saturday, July 11, 6:10 a.m. ET — Japan vs. Ireland
  • Saturday, July 11, 9:10 a.m. ET — Fiji vs. England
  • Saturday, July 11, 11:40 a.m. ET — South Africa vs. Scotland
  • Saturday, July 11, 3:10 p.m. ET — Argentina vs. Wales

World Rugby Nations Cup Fixtures & Schedule

  • Saturday, July 11, 1:00 p.m. ET — Uruguay vs. Romania
  • Saturday, July 11, 3:00 p.m. ET — Samoa vs. Georgia
  • Saturday, July 11, 5:45 p.m. ET — Tonga vs. Spain
  • Saturday, July 11, 6:00 p.m. ET — Chile vs. Hong Kong China
  • Saturday, July 11, 7:30 p.m. ET — USA vs. Zimbabwe
  • Saturday, July 11, 9:00 p.m. ET — Canada vs. Portugal

Here's How Fans Can Watch The Nations Championship

Fans in the United States can stream every match of the Nations Championship for free on RugbyPass TV and the World Rugby YouTube page.

Here's How Fans Can Watch The World Rugby Nations Cup

Fans in the United States can stream the USA Rugby Eagles and the rest of the field on Paramount+.

Current World Rugby Men's Rankings

  1. South Africa — 93.94
  2. New Zealand — 91.04
  3. Ireland — 89.32
  4. France — 86.74
  5. Scotland — 84.11
  6. England — 83.91
  7. Argentina — 83.77
  8. Australia — 81.28
  9. Fiji — 79.53
  10. Italy — 77.31
  11. Wales — 76.67
  12. Japan — 76.42
  13. Georgia — 72.67
  14. USA — 69.40
  15. Portugal — 68.51
  16. Uruguay — 68.46
  17. Chile — 67.31
  18. Samoa — 66.90
  19. Tonga — 66.88
  20. Spain — 66.64
  21. Belgium — 61.03
  22. Romania — 60.08
  23. Canada — 59.63
  24. Hong Kong China — 59.14
  25. Zimbabwe — 58.59

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