Ireland vs Japan
What the model says about this fixture, at either ground and at a neutral one, with the record behind it. Ratings as at 2026-10-18.
Ireland 92.6%6.4% JapanJapan 10.1%88.9% IrelandIreland 91.0%8.0% JapanEach figure is 5,000 simulations of this fixture. The score is where those runs are centred, not a likely scoreline — a rugby result is spread far too widely for any single one to be likely.
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Pick your own scoreline for Ireland v Japan, see where it lands among the simulated runs, and save a card to post.
Build a shareable predictionHow the runs finished
Winning margin across 5,000 simulations of this fixture. Bars right of the centre are Ireland wins; the faded bars at each end hold everything beyond 75 points.
Margin percentiles
- Middle 8 in 10
- Middle half
- Median
- Level
- Average
Eight runs in ten finished between 1 Ireland and 48 Ireland, half of them between 6 Ireland and 33 Ireland, with the middle run at 17 Ireland.
Those are gaps rather than scorelines. How much scoring the match produces is drawn separately — between 35 and 80 points in eight runs out of ten — so one bar covers many scores. The middle run above is 31-14 on a tight afternoon and 42-25 on an open one.
Why Ireland are favoured
How the model arrives at the chance of Ireland winning. It starts at an even 50%, and each line below adds to that or takes from it, in percentage points (pp): a bar to the right helps Ireland, a bar to the left helps Japan.
Ireland 2351, Japan 1846 — 505 points, favouring Ireland
Ireland are at home
Recent results, past meetings between the two sides, and days of rest. It has a limit, so it can nudge the rating but never overrule it.
Head to head
Ireland13–0–1Japan14 meetings, 1985 to 2026 · Ireland by 26.7 on average
Last 10: 9–0–1 · Ireland by 28.3 on average
| Date | Match | Competition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-11 | Japan 20–36 Ireland | Nations Championship | McDonald Jones Stadium |
| 2025-11-08 | Ireland 41–10 Japan | — | Aviva Stadium |
| 2021-11-06 | Ireland 60–5 Japan | — | Aviva Stadium |
| 2021-07-03 | Ireland 39–31 Japan | — | Aviva Stadium |
| 2019-09-28 | Japan 19–12 Ireland | Rugby World Cup | Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa |
The 5 most recent meetings; the record above covers all 14. A dash under Competition means the record does not name one, which is common — most rows on file carry no competition. None of this feeds the forecast: both ratings already contain these results.