A general view of McDonald Jones Stadium. Alamy Stock Photo

Ireland-Japan Nations Championship clash to take place in Newcastle

The sides meet on Saturday, 11 July.

McDONALD JONES STADIUM in Newcastle has been announced as the venue for Ireland’s Nations Championship Test match against Japan on Saturday, 11 July.

Ireland open their southern hemisphere series in the new competition against Australia at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Saturday, 4 July, before facing the Brave Blossoms elsewhere in New South Wales a week later [KO 8pm local time, 11am Irish time].

Andy Farrell’s side then face New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park the following Saturday, 18 July, before hosting Argentina, Fiji and South Africa in the northern hemisphere series in November. A finals weekend then follows at Twickenham. 

The Japan game – for which they are the hosts – will be the first neutral Test hosted in Australia since the Covid-19 pandemic and the second rugby international played at McDonald Jones Stadium in as many years after Australia beat Fiji in front of a record crowd of 28,132 last July.

Home to the Newcastle Knights and A-League soccer side Newcastle Jets, the venue’s capacity is 33,000.

Japan-Ireland will immediately follow the Wallabies’ duel with France in Brisbane earlier that evening. 

This will be 12th meeting between the sides since the 1991 World Cup, Ireland winning all bar once, at the 2019 tournament. Farrell’s side dominated their most recent encounter, 41-10 at Aviva Stadium last November.

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