Japan head coach Jamie Joseph is braced for Ireland's players to raise their game in a bid to help captain Johnny Sexton celebrate his 100th cap in style.
Sexton is poised to become only the seventh Irishman to reach the milestone during Saturday’s autumn Test against the Brave Blossoms in Dublin.
Joseph expects the landmark occasion for the opposition’s skipper to make it a “more intriguing” challenge for his side.
“He’s been a big part of the Irish success in recent years, certainly a big part when they beat the All Blacks (in 2016 and 2018) – a really experienced player,” Joseph said of Sexton.
“It will be a great occasion for our boys to be able to celebrate that. We’ve talked about it this week.
“We know it’s going to create a lot of emotion with the Irish boys, we know they’re going to want to play for him and I think that makes the challenge for us more intriguing.
“But we’ve got a certain way we play the game and nothing’s really going to change for us.
“It’s just going to be a big occasion and I think that’s going to be good experience for our boys.
“Going forward with Johnny, I’m sure the Irish guys will want him to stay around – time will tell, I guess.”
The Brave Blossoms inflicted a shock defeat on Ireland in the pool stage of their home World Cup in 2019.
Restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have limited them to just three fixtures since that tournament and they return to the Aviva Stadium a little over four months since a narrow 39-31 defeat to an experimental Irish side.
Andy Farrell’s hosts were missing a host of star names back in early July, including their British and Irish Lions contingent and rested veteran Sexton.
Joseph has made three changes to his starting XV following a 32-23 defeat to Australia a fortnight ago.
Yu Tamura has been recalled at outhalf, while winger Dylan Riley and fullback Kotaro Matsushima also come in, with backrow Pieter Labuschagne once again captaining the side
“In terms of the team and our journey, we’ve got one eye on Saturday’s Test match, which will be a huge challenge for us, and the other looking at different combinations,” he said.
“It’s still early days in terms of our World Cup preparations and only our fourth game in two years, due to the impact of the pandemic.
“We have some time to get ready, so we’re experimenting with positions, keeping consistency with our experienced players and giving opportunities to some of the newer guys.”
JAPAN (v Ireland): Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont Auvergne); Dylan Riley (Saitama Wild Knights), Timothy Lafaele (Kobe Steelers), Ryoto Nakamura (Tokyo Sungoliath), Siosaia Fifita (Hanazono Kintetsu Liners); Yu Tamura (Yokohama Eagles), Yutaka Nagare (Tokyo Sungoliath); Keita Inagaki (Saitama Wild Knights), Atsushi Sakate (Saitama Wild Knights), Jiwon Gu (Kobe Steelers); Jack Cornelsen (Saitama Wild Knights), James Moore (Tokyo Bay Urayasu); Ben Gunter (Saitama Wild Knights), Pieter Labuschagne (Kubota Spears, capt), Kazuki Himeno (Toyota Verblitz).
Replacements: Yusuke Niwai (Yokohama Eagles), Craig Millar (Saitama Wild Knights), Asaeli Ai Valu (Saitama Wild Knights), Yoshitaka Tokunaga (Toshiba Brave Lupus), Tevita Tatafu (Tokyo Sungoliath), Naoto Saito (Tokyo Sungoliath), Rikiya Matsuda (Saitama Wild Knights), Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobe Steelers).
