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Ireland Head coach Scott Bemand believes his team could have scored 50 or even 60 points Japan despite their 43-19 win in Cork on Saturday.
Ireland ran in seven tries in the outside-the-window test at Virgin Media Park, although Japan threatened a second-half comeback before the hosts pulled away late on.
Sakura Fifteen took an early lead when Sakurako Korai crossed in the fourth minute, but Ireland hit back with four tries in the next 36 minutes from Eilis Cahill, Brittany Hogan, Neve Jones and Anne McGann.
Beibhinn Parsons added Ireland’s fifth try shortly after half-time, with Dannah O’Brien converting, before Japan hit back through Nami Asari and Nijiho Nagata to reduce the deficit to 10 points.
Ireland eventually put the score beyond doubt when Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett crossed, both tries converted by Enya Breen.
“I think there’s a bigger score,” Bemand said. “That score should have been in the 50s, maybe even towards the 60s. You’re never going to get them all, but I think when we get where we want to go, and hopefully that includes South Africa, we’ll be more relentless when we get into the scoring zone.
“I thought Anna McGann was great again today. She’s had three games now where she’s been able to build a run of games, a run of performances. You saw her desperation to score when she scored in this bottom corner here. It was outstanding.”
Ireland’s autumn campaign has so far been a mixed bag. In their opening WXV Global Series game, Bemand’s team surrendered a 19-point lead against the team USA Women’s Eagles in Dublin before losing 40-36.
A week later in Galway, Parsons became Ireland’s all-time leading scorer with a brace of tries in a 31-24 win over Japan.
With two wins under their belt, Ireland are now gearing up for the game South Africa in the two-Test series in Cape Town.
Despite a mixed start to the fall, Bemand maintained that the team continues to develop with the long-term goal of the women’s team Rugby World Cup 2029 in mind.
“It’s been a really tough couple of weeks,” Bemand said. “From kind of a wild start against the USA to giving up a 19-point lead and some parts of the game that he’s revealing.
“So there’s a piece around this (WXV) Global Series about growing our game and adding layers.
“You can put together a montage of some absolutely fantastic tries and there’s probably a montage of pieces that we need to sort out if we’re going to be competing at the top of the game in three years’ time.”
