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Ruddock proud as Ireland overcome ‘biggest test’

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Ireland captain Rhys Ruddock was impressed by the way his troops overcame what he believes was their toughest test of the summer tour, after battling past Japan in Tokyo.

Ireland captain Rhys Ruddock was impressed by the way his troops overcame what he believes was their toughest test of the summer tour, after battling past Japan in Tokyo.

At Ajinomoto Stadium, Ireland raced into a 28-8 lead at the break but struggled after half-time, although still managed to hold on for a 35-13 triumph.

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Victory for the team who finished second in the 2017 RBS 6 Nations follows a 55-19 win over the USA in New Jersey and last week’s initial 50-22 triumph over the Brave Blossoms.

And Ruddock is adamant that despite the relatively large margin of victory, his troops were sorely tested in the heat and humidity.

“Everyone found it unbelievably tough, both in terms of the physicality, speed and the way they challenged us in the tackle, with strength and tempo,” he said.

“It’s certainly our biggest test of the tour and we had to work very hard to get the win.”

Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Kieran Marmion and Ruddock himself all crossed the whitewash in the first period for the visitors, as centre Kotaro Matsushima and the boot of fly-half Jumpei Ogura notched Japan’s points.

The second period was far more even as the Brave Blossoms’ physicality and aggressive defence pushed Ireland to their limits, and Akihito Yamada deservedly crossed in the corner to narrow the deficit.

But Ruddock’s men finished with a flourish as Sean Reidy crashed over following hooker Niall Scannell’s deft offload, leaving coach Joe Schmidt content just to depart from Tokyo with another win.

“Having spoken to the players, that was very, very tough going,” said Schmidt.

“The Japanese defence came very quick off the line, very effective in the tackle and made the day very hard work.

“It was very hot out there, the players were fatiguing early in the game, so it was great to get a good start and hang on at the finish.

“I think we got exactly what we expected, it was very tough, very physical. They were so much stronger in the scrum than last week and they held us very solidly at scrum time.”