Player comparisons: Ireland's 7s stars steal the show in Northampton

Ireland kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign on a good note to defeat Japan 42 – 14  at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton.

Dominating in large part due to their 7s stars, Ireland’s lethal backline opened up Japan from long range to score a handful of spectacular tries.

Grabbing the headlines was winger Amee-Leigh Costigan, who went searching for work and popped up all over the pitch. One such moment saw Costigan hit a hard line off a line-out move before finding Beibhinn Parsons for Ireland’s third try.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Unfortunately for Ireland, their line-out struggled from the start and, as a result, cost them several opportunities to score when they had Japan on the back foot. Defensively, this pressure cost them dearly, with Japan’s first try coming on the back of a lost Irish throw.

Conversely, Japan overcame an early Irish onslaught to find its groove. Once on the front foot, their attacking game came to life with a handful of strong launch plays. These plays led to a couple of well-taken tries but were more often than not undone by handling errors late in the phase count.

Here is how the team units performed in their head-to-head matches.

Fixture

Women's Rugby World Cup

Ireland Women

42 - 14

Full-time

Japan Women

All Stats and Data

Front Row – Draw
Enjoying a real tussle, both front rows had their moments in this contest. Ahead of the fixture, Ireland were expected to dominate at scrum time but faced stiff resistance from Japan.

At maul time, the Irish front row enjoyed an edge early with Neve Jones pouncing for an maul try. When set, the Irish maul was a lethal weapon, but Ireland saw several opportunities go begging with their poor 69%-win rate on their own ball in the first half. Recovering well in the second half, Ireland’s line-out would end up with a 79% win rate, which was still quite a way below what they would’ve expected.

Japan’s front row recovered well and started the second half like a runaway freight train, mauling the Irish pack back twenty meters in the 41st minute. Two minutes later, Japan were crossing the line for their second try.

At scrum time, both sides won 100% of their own ball, but it was Ireland’s scrum which grew in confidence throughout the contest.

Second Row – Japan  
Utterly dominant in the air, the Japanese lock pairing of Yuna Sato and Otoka Yoshimura caused Ireland all sorts of trouble on their own ball. Whilst neither were the go-to choices on the Japanese throw, their ability to get in Neve Jones’s eye line saw Ireland’s key platform go haywire.

At the breakdown, Sato and. Yoshimura were constant threats at the breakdown and were exceptionally quick to their own ball. This pace allowed Japan to go through their multiphase attack.

Ruling out Ireland’s penalty try in the 60th minute through a complete miscommunication, the Irish locks obstructed the Japanese defenders. This incident was a crystal-clear example of the issues Ireland faced all match with what appeared to be a massively over-complicated and active line-out.

Back Row – Japan
Head and shoulders above their teammates, the Japanese backrow were immense. Dominating the carries and tackle charts, the starting trio of Masami Kawamura, Iroha Nagata and Seina Saito were exceptional.

Pouncing for a well-taken try, Kawamura roamed the pitch as a third centre for her side. Getting on the ball frequently, linking play beautifully and getting her side over the gainline, Kawamura topped the meters made charts for her side.  At set-piece time, she dominated the line-out to rubber-stamp a statement performance on the global stage.

At the breakdown, the trio were highly effective with Kawamura pulling off a brilliant turnover when Ireland were on the attack.

Complementing their blindside, Nagata and Saito did the grunt work. Topping the tackle charts, Saito got through a whopping 17 and made hard yards with her seven carries during her 65 minutes on the pitch.

Just a touch behind Saito on the tackle charts, Nagata got through bundles of work, making 15 tackles and winning two key lineouts.

Halfback – Ireland
Pinpoint in their execution, the Irish halfback pairing pulled the strings beautifully.

Whipping the ball out of what was a messy breakdown, Aoibheann Reilly completed 83 passes. Mixing in a few sniping runs, Reilly kept the Japanese defence on the back foot and, crucially, sucked in multiple defenders. This threat created a clear numerical advantage for Ireland in the wide channels, which they duly exposed.

Bossing proceedings one spot out, flyhalf Dannah O’Brien launched an aerial assault on the Japanese back three. Putting the ball right where her outside backs could compete, O’Brien was relentless.

From the kicking tee, she was perfect, nailing her shots from both touchlines for a personal haul of 12 points.

In open play, the 21-year-old was more than willing to take on the defensive line with a couple of well-executed runs. Most impressive was the width she got on her passes, which opened up the wide channels for her wingers.

Centre – Ireland
One hundred meters from the try line, Eve Higgins saved Ireland from conceding a third try with a perfectly timed intercept.

This moment summed up what the Ireland 7s star brought to proceedings. Topping the carry charts with a monstrous 150 meters from ten carries with two-line breaks, two offloads, six defenders beaten, a try assist and of course that miracle try, Higgins was unplayable at times. Adding to the impressive nature of her performance was the fact that the 26-year-old completed all of this inside 60 minutes before being replaced.

Complimenting her centre partner, Aoife Dalton clattered into the Japanese attackers with reckless abandon. Shutting down nearly every opportunity that the Japanese had to go wide with her positioning. Dalton was the general in what was generally a well-connected defensive effort.

Back Three – Ireland
Of all the head-to-heads, this was the clearest cut. Ireland’s back three were nothing short of spectacular as they tore the Japanese defence to pieces.

Front and centre was 7s star Amee-Leigh Costigan, who ripped off three clear line-breaks, beat three defenders, made 76 meters from 7 carries and scored a brilliant try.

On the opposite wing, Beibhinn Parsons dominated the aerial battle. Chasing everything that O’Brien put in the air, Parsons’ ruthless pursuit spooked the Japanese back three. Capitalising on her opportunities, she made 76 meters from eight carries, beat four defenders and scored a try. Defensively, she put in a few big hits, making 10 tackles and winning a brilliant turnover.

Completing the Irish backline’s impressive performance, the silky-smooth Stacey Flood proved why she is one of the best players in the world.

Hitting the line at perfect moments, distributing well as both a first and second receiver, kicking for huge distances and saving Ireland’s defence on a few occasions, Flood was exceptional.

Mirroring her back three teammates, Flood put up huge meters with 85 from 10 carries. Her cool, calm composure cannot be understated and will be crucial if Ireland are to push on with tougher challenges ahead.