Fly-half Johnny Sexton will return to the Ireland team and captain his nation for the first time on Thursday as they take on Russia in Kobe.
Coach Joe Schmidt has made 11 changes to the Ireland line-up that suffered a shock defeat to hosts Japan last week, with Sexton’s inclusion and captaincy the most notable.
Sexton was not risked on Saturday in an otherwise strong side because of a minor thigh strain picked up in Ireland’s opening bonus-point win over Scotland, but the 34-year-old will replace hooker Rory Best as captain against Russia. Best will not feature in Thursday’s fixture.
Garry Ringrose is the only back who will have started all three games for Ireland, with injured fellow centre Robbie Henshaw yet to feature in the tournament. Flanker Peter O’Mahony is the sole forward retained in the pack that were outmuscled in the 19-12 loss to the hosts, while Jordi Murphy comes straight into the back row, having flown out to Japan on Sunday to replace the injured Jack Conan.
Ireland will qualify for the last eight with bonus-point wins over Russia and Samoa, and could still top Pool A and secure a potentially less difficult quarterfinal if Japan slip up in their remaining two games.
Ireland XV to face Japan:
15. Rob Kearney, 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. Keith Earls, 10. Johnny Sexton (C), 9. Luke McGrath; 1. Dave Kilcoyne, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. John Ryan, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 5. Jean Kleyn, 6. Rhys Ruddock, 7. Peter O’Mahony, 8. Jordi Murphy.
Replacements: 16. Sean Cronin, 17. Andrew Porter, 18. Tadhg Furlong, 19. Iain Henderson, 20. CJ Stander, 21. Joey Carbery, 22. Jack Carty, 23. Jordan Larmour.