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international women
Ireland kept the win over 31-24 Japan in WXV Global Series at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway.
Two tries from player of the match Brittany Hogan and Ireland’s new all-time goalscorer Béibhinn Parsons, as well as a score from Aoife Dalton, saw Scott Bemand’s side recover from a 40-36 defeat by USA The Lady Eagles last week.
Sakura Fifteen battled hard and conceded four tries, with Moe Nagaoka going down twice, Nijiho Nagata registering her team’s third from the maul and 18-year-old Nami Asari breaking the whitewash in the closing stages.
But Ireland did enough to put to bed a nervous and at times shaky encounter and secure their first win at the 2026 WXV Global Series.
Speaking after the final whistle, player of the match Brittany Hogan told TG4: “I’m really proud of the girls. We knew we had to dig deep because that Japanese team never stops.
“They are so, so well coached and it was a great game there. We have to chip in and take more pride in our try line.”
“We can’t be too soft on our defense, and we have to be better at that next week.
“You could see it was a tale of two halves. We had the wind with us in the first half and we were against it in the second half, so we just had to try and play with it.
“It’s tough here at Dexcom, but it’s a great crowd, it’s a great place and we have some really good memories here.”
Ireland captain Erin King, who was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes just before half-time for going crazy, echoed her team-mate’s sentiments: “I’m very, very proud of the girls. They stuck it in, fought until the end and showed what we’re all about.
“They asked us questions last week and I think we answered them today.
“We definitely had some frustrations and it was difficult. We had a really good week of training and there we showed what we can do in parts, but also fair play to Japan, they really brought it to us and it was not an easy feat.
“At halftime we talked about playing the conditions and working on ourselves. We’re not looking for perfection, but we’re looking to do the best we can.”
The captain continued with a chuckle, “I made it a little difficult by spending my 10 minutes in the sin bin, so I’ll apologize to the girls for that!
“They showed team unity and big congratulations to Brittany (Hogan) for player of the match and Beth (Buttimer) for the first game. Really well deserved for both of them.”
Scott Bemand, the Ireland coach, added a final note: “I’m delighted for the girls.
“We went through the game. The first half, the scoreboard should have looked more favorable for us. There is a lot to do as always.
“I thought we were better today than last week, so we just have to keep getting better as fast as possible,” he concluded with next week’s challenge already on his mind.
The world’s fifth-ranked team will have a lot to clean up before facing Japan again in six days in a game outside the WXV Global Series. For now, Ireland will be mostly satisfied after securing victory in Galway.
