Japan player ratings vs Ireland | Quilter Nations Series 2025

Japan player ratings: Eddie Jones’ Japan produced their most competitive display since his return as head coach, making Ireland work for everything in a 41-10 defeat at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The Brave Blossoms had some decent moments in attack, were stubborn in defence, and showed enough flashes to suggest that progress under Jones is beginning to take root — even if the scoreline ultimately blew out late on.

Here’s how we rated the Japan players:

1. Kenta Kobayashi – 7
Struggled but survived against Thomas Clarkson and took his try well off a catch-and-drive lineout.

2. Kenji Sato – 6
Super mobile, jack-in-the-box style hooker who gets around the pitch and asks questions of defenders. His lineout for the most part was on the money too, but too many turnovers against blotted his copybook.

3. Shuhei Takeuchi – 5
Grew into the game after heavy early pressure from Andrew Porter but still struggled to assert dominance at the set-piece.

4. Epineri Uluiviti – 5
Fell off a few too many tackles for this reviewer and faded into the background.

5. Warner Dearns – 6
Used frequently as a carrier in the first half and did a solid job of it. Japan’s main lineout target but couldn’t stem Ireland’s power in the tight.

6. Ben Gunter – 6
Another heavy-duty shift from Gunter, who carried hard and hit hard in equal measure. Replaced by Leitch just after halftime. One big turnover to relieve pressure on his peers stood out.

7. Kanji Shimokawa – 6
Got around the pitch well and outworked the Irish back-row at times in the effort department.

8. Faulua Makisi – 7
Carried really hard and brought a directness to the Japan effort with the ball, even if there were a few fumbles thrown in. One of Japan’s best on the day.

9. Naoto Saito – 7
Very decent service from Saito, including an early kick-pass off the deck. Controlled the tempo smartly before tiring.

10. Seungsin Lee – 5
Not the bravest tackler in the world — what fly-half is? — wanting no part in tackling Nick Timoney on the way to the line. Some of his tactical kicking was decidedly middle of the road, although his passing game was hard to fault.

11. Tomoki Osada – 8.5
Overplayed his hand at times but he definitely gave Ireland problems on the edge, clocking up 84 metres in the first half alone and beating defenders for fun. A livewire performance.

12. Charlie Lawrence – 4
Deservedly yellow-carded for an obvious tip tackle of the type you don’t tend to see as often in the modern game. Brainrot stuff.

13. Dylan Riley – 6
Some nice kicks in behind Ireland’s blitz and linked well both outside and inside him. Well contained by Ireland.

14. Kippei Ishida – 7
Bounced the 106kg Stockdale, which is no mean feat given he was ceding 30kg to the Ulsterman. Punches well above his weight and full of energy.

15. Yoshitaka Yazaki – 5.5
A few wobbling moments for Yazaki, but there were some nice flashes in attack, not least a 30-metre break on 64 minutes.

Replacements – 5
There wasn’t much by way of improvement from the Japanese bench, who collectively failed to lift the tempo or alter the momentum. A few tidy touches here and there, but overall they offered little impact against an Irish side that finished far stronger.