The Welsh rugby team play Japan in Cardiff on Saturday in the first of three matches they will play at home this autumn. After Japan, Wales will host New Zealand and Australia in Cardiff, with that opening trio inaugurating the Nations Championship.
Wales and Japan meet for the fourth time in 16 months. Since July 2025, Wales have won two of the three encounters between the sides, and a win in Cardiff last year in the final moments gave coach Steve Tandy his first test victory. The two teams could meet again at Twickenham at the end of the month, in the tournament finale.
Tandy has recorded one win and two defeats with Wales in the first part of the competition. In 12 international matches overall, he has three wins and nine defeats, plus one win in an unofficial match against the Barbarians. Wales are currently 10th in the world rankings, and all three test wins have been achieved against Fiji (9th), Italy (11th) and Japan (12th).
"We are probably at the level we would want to be, but we want to progress faster than we have so far," said Tandy. "If you look at where we were 12 months ago, the team had won only one of 26 matches. We have started winning again, with four wins in 13 matches." The coach did not want to give a target number of wins this autumn, but emphasised that the final standing in the inaugural Nations Championship is important. "It is always important, we want to finish as high as possible in every tournament, but the only thing we can control is our performance," he added. "We understand that we will have to get into rhythm quickly."
Captain Dewi Lake stated that Wales are in the best shape he remembers ahead of the start of a campaign. "We have built a huge connection with the fans in the last 18 months, on the field," said Lake. "They see the passion and care we show representing them, the jersey and the country. We know it is up to us to excite them and encourage them to make noise. That will not happen by itself."
Tandy included a record 12 players from English clubs in his 23-man squad, of whom nine – including six forwards – start in the first XV. Starters such as Nicky Smith, Jac Morgan, Aaron Wainwright and Dewi Lake described how their games have progressed since moving to English clubs. Tandy also named his sixth midfield partnership in 13 international matches, pairing Max Llewellyn and Eddie James.
"We will have to have an open mind because we have four pretty big test matches coming up, one after another," said Tandy. "There will naturally be changes, whether due to rotation or injuries, but we also have players in certain positions whom we believe could be included."
Attention is also on stadium attendance. The lowest attendance at a match outside the covid period since 2016 was 50,185 spectators at the opening of the autumn series against Argentina in 2025. Three months later, 57,744 spectators at the match against France in February (54:12) was the lowest number of spectators at a Six Nations match in Cardiff. This month, the comparative targets are 61,324 and 68,388 spectators, the numbers recorded at the matches against Japan and New Zealand a year ago. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) relies on attendance at men's international matches for more than half of its revenue, and last month reported a loss of 18 million pounds. Welsh players, including Louis Rees-Zammit, have been posting ticket purchase links on social media.
