Wales pain finally ends as they withstand another Japan fightback to claim first victory since Rugby World Cup.
Wales ended almost two years of pain and claimed their first victory since the 2023 Rugby World Cup by securing a 31-22 triumph over Japan on Saturday.
They have gone on a run of 18 consecutive defeats, including last weekend’s reversal against the Brave Blossoms, but that anguish was finally over in Kobe.
The visitors were excellent in the first half, going 21-3 ahead through Josh Adams’ try and Kieran Hardy’s brace, but they had to withstand another Japanese fightback.
Shuhei Takeuchi, Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley all touched down to reduce the arrears to two points. However, Wales would not be denied this time as Dan Edwards made sure of a victory which brought some positivity back to Welsh rugby.
Confidence must have been low in the Welsh camp after their latest dispiriting defeat, but it did not show in the opening period of the second Test.
Like they did in the opener, Matt Sherratt’s men began the match impressively and showed real intent with ball in hand.
In the first 10 minutes, Wales showed their willingness to shift the ball wide as off a turnover Ben Thomas received the ball, made a half-break and sent Blair Murray scampering clear. The full-back then drew the final defender and enabled Adams to cross the whitewash.
Although the Brave Blossoms reduced the arrears with a Lee penalty, the visitors were creating the majority of the chances, while their maul was also working effectively.
A couple of dominant drives took them to within metres of the line and Hardy was on hand to reward their pressure by touching down.
With their opponents down to 14 men, Wales then went over for a third time as Adams made the break and found his scrum-half, who completed his brace.
Last week, Sherratt’s side moved found themselves in a dominant position before faltering in the second period and a try just shy of the interval from Takeuchi would have increased those fears of it happening again.
The start of the final 40 minutes was promising, however, as the visitors controlled the game and earned a penalty which Edwards kicked to move them 14 points ahead.
But, perhaps understandably, the Welsh players went into their shells and Japan came back into the contest, getting themselves over the line through Dearns.
Riley soon followed and just two points separated the teams going into the latter stages. Worries of a 19th successive defeat would have crept into their minds but Wales showed impressive composure to get back on the front foot and get over for match-sealing try when Edwards dotted down to end almost two years of Welsh misery.
The teams
Japan: 15 Ichigo Nakakusu, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Shogo Nakano, 11 Halatoa Vailea, 10 Lee Seungsin, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Jack Cornelsen, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Epineri Uluiviti, 3 Keijiro Tamefusa, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Yota Kamimori
Replacements: 16 Hayate Era, 17 Sena Kimura, 18 Shuhei Takeuchi, 19 Waisake Raratubua, 20 Ben Gunter, 21 Shinobu Fujiwara, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Kazuma Ueda
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3.Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Christian Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Taine Plumtree, 21 Tommy Reffell, 22 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 23 Keelan Giles
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Damian Schneider (UAR)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZR)
FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
