New Zealand-born flyhalf Joey Carbery kicked six goals on his test rugby return as five-try Ireland beat Japan 39-31 in Dublin.
Carberry spent 60 weeks on the sidelines with ankle and wrist injuries and missed most of the last European season, but he converted four tries and landed two penalties for a 14-point haul on Saturday (Sunday NZ time) in his 23rd test.
The Dargaville-born 25-year-old was handed the flyhalf role with Ireland resting veteran captain Johnny Sexton.
Japan beat Ireland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and trailed the hosts 19-17 at halftime in Dublin.
But Jamie Joseph’s men faded in the final quarter, allowing Andy Farrell’s Ireland to clinch victory.
Chris Farrell, Stuart McCloskey and Finlay Bealham dotted down for Ireland in the first spell, with Josh van der Flier and Jacob Stockdale adding second half tries.
Captain Michael Leith, Timothy Lafaele, Siosaia Fifita and Naoto Saito scored Japan’s four tries and Yu Tamura kicked 11 points.
