However, he finally showed what he can deliver with an embracing display. Undoubted class at provincial level in a Leinster side that scores tries for fun, life at Test level had been rather different for the New Zealander who was dropped during the Six Nations. It took less than four minutes for James Lowe to grab the opening try for against Japan ? #AutumnNationsSeries #IREvJPN /XurHqT8mTg Played on for another twelve minutes before Keith Earls was introduced. Continued to make a bruising impact and was dutifully rewarded when scoring his team’s sixth try on 55 minutes. With Robbie Henshaw unavailable through injury, the recent Lions pick was always going to be the go-to outside Johnny Sexton and aside from some edgy handling, he was powerful in the first-half carry as illustrated in the fourth-minute midfield burst that was integral in creating the game’s opening try.
Showed that power again late in the second half when grabbing his 70th-minute try. He bloomed late in the opening period, making a ball-dislodging defensive read and within minutes of that, he was powering through contact to give Jamison Gibson-Park a 34th-minute assist.
THE FALL RTE PLAYER SERIES
Right now he needs a consistent run in the team and what he showed here suggested he can potentially have an Autumn Nations Series to remember. This was just his seventh appearance in the 18-game Farrell tenure and his susceptibility to injury had limited his availability. Will be annoyed he bit in when it came to trying to shut down Japan’s try on 57 minutes, but he didn’t let it overly upset him as he went on to claim his hat-trick when gathering another kick through on 74 minutes. Solid in the air, too, judging by a catch in traffic between his scores. Before that, he had looked supreme in racing onto an 11th-minute kick through to score and he followed that with a pacy finish eight minutes later.
Just his second Test start in 2021, he showed Farrell what Ireland had been missing without him as he came within a whisker of clinching a first-half try hat-trick just 27 minutes in. His 50:22 set up the stadium lifting try for Sexton early in the second half. Was the first player to take a jab at the Japanese defence with a dash on halfway and while his involvement was largely limited on the ball after that, his concentration didn’t wane. The statement recruit of the Andy Farrell era, this was his 14th successive start and he continued to look the part.
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