Japan 13-35 Ireland

Ireland completed their summer tour with a second victory over Japan

Ireland were made to battle for a third win out of three on their summer tour with a second victory over Japan.

Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Kieran Marmion, Rhys Ruddock and Sean Reidy scored Ireland's tries in Tokyo.

Centre Kotaro Matsushima and winger Akihito Yamada touched down for Japan.

Joe Schmidt's side scored four tries inside the opening 31 minutes in a match that was closer than their seven-try win a week earlier.

Ireland have won all seven of their meetings with Japan, who they will play in the 2019 World Cup.

They were three tries to the good inside 18 minutes.

Hosts Japan will play Ireland in Pool A of the World Cup in 2019

Ringrose raced through for a third-minute opener after a loose Japanese pass bounced nicely for the young Leinster centre to nab his fourth international try.

Flanker Van der Flier powered over on the right from a Luke Marshall pass in the 11th minute and Paddy Jackson converted again for 14-0 before a Jumpei Ogura penalty got the hosts off the mark.

Connacht scrum-half Marmion snapped up the tourists' third try after an Irish charge had been halted just short of the line.

Japan then got their first try as the ball was worked right for centre Matsushima to beat the challenge of last man Marmion to dot down.

Skipper Ruddock was pushed over for the fourth Irish try under the posts and Jackson continued his 100% record with the conversion.

Japan thought they had scored a second try shortly after the interval but a video review revealed scrum-half Yutaka Nagare had knocked on.

However things went in their favour as they cut Ireland's lead in the 63rd minute; an attempted kick through deflecting favourably for winger Yamada to score in the right corner.

Japan put more pressure on a tiring Irish side but failed to add to their tally and it was replacement Reidy who extended the visitors' lead a minute from the end.

Schmidt's youthful squad, with 11 regulars away on British and Irish Lions duty in New Zealand, had previously encountered little resistance on their tour of the United States and Japan, storming past the Eagles 55-19 in New Jersey before thrashing the Brave Blossoms 50-22 in Shizuoka.

Japan: Noguchi, Yamada, Matsushima, Tamura, Fukuoka, Ogura, Nagare, Ishihara, Niwai, Asahara, Thompson, Helu, Leitch, Matsuhashi, Mafi.

Replacements: Horie, Inagaki, Watanabe, Yatabe, Tokunaga, Tanaka, Matsuda, Yamanaka.

Ireland: Conway, Earls, Ringrose, Marshall, Stockdale, Jackson, Marmion, Healy, Tracy, J. Ryan, Treadwell, Toner, Ruddock, van der Flier, Conan.

Replacements: N. Scannell, Kilcoyne, Porter, J. Ryan, Reidy, Cooney, R. Scannell, O'Halloran.

Referee: J P Doyle (England)