Wales secured a 28-21 victory over Japan in a Nations Championship encounter held at the Principality Stadium in front of 52,425 spectators. The match was tense, with Wales leading 21-14 at half-time.
For Wales, tries were scored by Archie Griffin, Josh Adams, who crossed the line twice, and Louis Rees-Zammit. Sam Costelow successfully converted three tries, while Edwards also contributed additional points from conversions. On the other side, Japan scored tries through Ben Gunter, Warner Dearns and Kenta Fukuda. Japanese conversions were realised by Naoto Saito, who hit two, and Komura.
In the second half, Josh Adams scored his second try, while Kenta Fukuda reduced Japan’s deficit and secured them a losing bonus point. This was the fourth meeting between Wales and Japan in the last 16 months.
Wales head coach Steve Tandy, who recorded his fourth win in 13 international matches in this encounter, made seven changes to the lineup compared to the previous match against South Africa. The starting XV included nine players from English clubs. For Japan, Riku Kitahara made his debut as the third-choice fly-half, while Naoto Saito, the co-captain, played alongside Kitahara at fly-half.
Louis Rees-Zammit returned to his preferred full-back position after previously playing at centre. Archie Griffin scored his first test try despite not training on the day before the match. However, Wales had issues during the game with losing lineouts, six in total, as well as indiscipline and handling errors. Eddie James and Max Llewellyn formed one of the greatest centre combinations in Welsh history, while Nicky Smith made an important press on his line.
Following this win, Wales remained in fifth place in the Northern Hemisphere table. Before this match, Wales had started the tournament in July with a win over Fiji, but subsequently lost to Argentina and South Africa. Japan had earlier beaten Italy but were defeated by Ireland and France.
In upcoming fixtures, Wales will host New Zealand and conclude the season with a match against Australia. Japan will travel to England and Scotland. A three-day final tournament will be held at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham at the end of November. If the tables remain unchanged, Wales and Japan will meet again in London for fifth place.
