IRELAND boss Scott Bemand insisted his side’s strength in adversity will stand them in good stead for the rest of the World Cup after overcoming Japan 42-14.

Six tries decorated an ultimately emphatic Irish victory, but the scoreline failed to reflect how hard they had been pushed in the second half of the Group C clash at Franklin’s Gardens.

Trailing 28-14 and with the wind in their sails as they staged an electric comeback, Japan were on the brink of scoring again only for Eve Higgins to anticipate a key pass under her posts and grab the intercept before running the length of the field to finish.

Ireland’s World Cup campaign was up and running but Bemand admitted they had been forced to battle hard against the team ranked 11th in the world.

“As an opener we’ve got what we wanted — we scored some tries with some variety, we’ve shown some forward power and backs prowess, but we’ll need to be better each week to get to where we want.”

Ireland take on Spain next Sunday, also at Franklin’s Gardens, before completing their group campaign against New Zealand in Brighton on September 7.