Rugby World Cup: Cian Healy on what Ireland need to do to stop Scotland

Cian Healy takes part in an Ireland training session ahead of their World Cup opener against Scotland

The Leinster loosehead believes one of the toughest challenges of Sunday's Pool A opener will be keeping the South African-born tighthead quiet - and he was only too happy to take tips from Tokyo's sumo wrestlers during a rare visit to the Isegahama stable in the lead-up to Ireland's opening game.

Edinburgh prop Nel is the lynchpin of Scotland's scrummage and Healy will be tasked with subduing the 33-year-old powerhouse when the two nations meet in Yokohama.

Speaking ahead of the match, Healy said: "[Scotland] are a pretty strong scrum, they've been getting better and better. They're a threat and Nel is a real cornerstone for them.

WP Nel on the rampage against Ireland in the 2018 Six Nations

"So we'll be dealing with a lot of his tactical scrummaging, the angles and things that he might be looking for.

"We've simulated a bit of that in a bid to plan for it but you can never plan somebody fully. So we've been working on ourselves as much as making plans to defuse their bombs."

Revealing that champion ozeki rank wrestler Terunofuji Haruo had been forthcoming with advice and tips, Healy added: "Culturally it was one of the best things I did last time around, gaining an understanding of it that they are not just big lumps. The amount of training they put in, their flexibility, strength, power, everything.

"It was a really good experience to get that and chat to the lads afterwards. They were really open and good with us - they just wouldn't let us stand down on the ring!

"The main man, he followed a few of us on Instagram and he was giving us a few direct messages and chatting to us. He was saying good luck and things. So there's been a bit of chat and a bit of craic."

• Our Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup coverage is brought to you in association with Castle Water and on Twitter @CastleWaterLtd