Game 2.

Ireland got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to the perfect start on Sunday with a resounding 27-3 bonus-point win over Scotland to leave them in excellent shape in Pool A.

Up next for Ireland is a clash with tournament hosts Japan at Shizuoka Stadium who defeated Russia in their opening pool match.

With a six-day turnaround, head coach Joe Schmidt is expected to make a number of changes for the fixture. Peter O’Mahony and Bundee Aki picked up head knocks in the win over Scotland, and while they passed their HIA 1 and 2 – we don’t expect either to be risked.

Johnny Sexton is also a doubt for the fixture and will probably miss out. Keith Earls and Rob Kearney could also come back into the equation, but it might still be too soon for Robbie Henshaw.

With that being said, here’s the team we’d like to see Schmidt pick.

Ireland vs Japan.

15. Rob Kearney
14. Keith Earls.
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Chris Farrell
11. Andrew Conway
10. Joey Carbery
9. Conor Murray

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Rory Best (c)
3. Andrew Porter
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. James Ryan
6. Rhys Ruddock
7. Josh van der Flier
8. CJ Stander

Replacements:
16. Niall Scannell
17. Cian Healy
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Iain Henderson
20. Jack Conan
21. Luke McGrath
22. Jack Carty
23. Jordan Larmour