The Irish women's rugby team defeated Japan 31-24 in a match at the WXN Global Series at the Dexcom Stadium. Beibh Parsons became the all-time top scorer for the Irish women's team.
Points for the home side were scored by Hogan (2), Parsons (2) and Dalton, while O'Brien added three conversions. Points for Japan were scored by Nagaoka (2), Nagata and Asari, with Nishi adding two conversions.
The points of Brittany Hogan and Parsons gave the home side the lead after a dominant first half. Hogan scored after 10 minutes, then increased Ireland's lead when she finished the play after passing to Aoibh Reilly after half an hour of play. Anna McGann quickly returned to stop the run of Nami Asari. Parsons scored after a good solo run in her home town in the 37th minute, which marked her 24th point in the Test match and took the record.
After the yellow card of the captain Erin King, Japan scored a point at the end of the first half when Moe Nagaoka broke through the defence. Nagaoka then scored from the mol and reduced the lead of Ireland in the second half. Aoife Dalton scored a few minutes after entering the pitch. Niji Nagata scored the third point for Japan from the mol. Parsons made another run after connecting with McGann, and O'Brien added a conversion. As the match came to an end, the two teams had to deal with the strong wind in Galway. The Irish team had previously lost 19 points against the United States at the Tallaght Stadium.
Ireland's line-up: Flood; Parsons, McGann, Higgins, Elmes Kinlan; O'Brien, Reilly; O'Dowd, Jones, Cahill; Wall, Tuite-O'Sullivan; Hogan, King (captain), Adams Verling. Substitutes: Buttimer, McGrath, Djougang, Clohessy, Moore, Lane, Dalton, Gallagher.
Japan's line-up: Nishi; S Nishimura, Kataoka, Furuta, Imakugi; Harada, Tsukui (captain); Komaki, Nagaoka, Kitano; Kawamura, Sato; Asari, Korai, Nduka. Substitutes: Nagata, Yoshida, Fuji, Yoshimura, N Nishimura, Seo, Yamamoto, Havi Kagawa.
