Japan to play Ireland in Australia as part of rugby's Nations Championship in July
Japan will host Ireland in a rugby Nations Championship test match in Australia on July 11 as part of a doubleheader at Newcastle after Australia takes on France
NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Japan will host Ireland in a rugby Nations Championship test in Australia on July 11 as part of a doubleheader at a stadium north of Sydney after Australia takes on France.
Rugby Australia on Thursday said the Newcastle match will be the first neutral test hosted in Australia since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ireland has won 10 of 11 tests against Japan dating to the 1991 Rugby World Cup, with Japan’s only victory coming at home in the 2019 Rugby World Cup at Shizuoka Stadium. Ireland won the most recent encounter 41-10 at Dublin in November.
After the test against France, Australia's Wallabies will play Italy on July 18 in Perth, Western Australia.
The inaugural Nations Championship pits the top 12 nations from the Northern and Southern hemispheres in a six-round contest for global supremacy. The tournament will culminate in a Finals Weekend at Twickenham in London in November.
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