Brave Blossoms Found A Way To Overturn Wales In Sweltering Kitakyushu Test
We said in our match preview it was tough to call a winner of this first of two Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 matches, and ultimately, Japan turned things around to pile more misery on the Welsh national team as they overcame a half time deficit to win 24-19 in Kitakyushu’s Mikuni World Stadium on Saturday, July 5.
Japan
Wales 2
Matsunaga (15'), Nakakusu (58'), Vailea (69')
Tries
Thomas (3'), Penalty Try (19'), Rogers (21')
Lee (16', 59', 70')
Conversions
Costelow (4')
Lee (63')
Penalties
We said in our match preview it was tough to call a winner of this first of two Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 matches, and ultimately, Japan turned things around to pile more misery on the Welsh national team as they overcame a half time deficit to win 24-19 in Kitakyushu’s Mikuni World Stadium on Saturday, July 5.
The Japan Brave Blossoms win was just their second over the Welsh across 15 test matches going back to 1973, and the only previous win was in Tokyo back in 2013, when, you guessed it, Eddie Jones was also Japan’s Head Coach.
As expected, it was hot and wet from humidity, the local index even surpassing Japanese levels deemed safe for sports, but there had been adjustments made to cope with this, including an extended half-time break in addition to the water breaks.
Japan had been behind 7-19 at the halftime break, in what was not a great showing from either side but the Brave Blossoms scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to complete an unexpected turnaround.
They scored three tries to the two from Wales, and Eddie Jones said, “From a young team’s perspective, it was a very good win. In the first half, we were being beaten in territory and possession. We had a lot of nerves and frequently gave the ball back early in the phase count. As a result, at halftime, we were being beaten fair and square. But I sensed at halftime the players knew what to do, and under Michael Leitch’s leadership in the second half, they played a really good 40 minutes of rugby.”
The impact of the return of Leitch can not be understated, and he is proving to be the glue and talisman to drive this team forward as they try and match the previous highs from 2015 and 2019. Their record since the Rugby World Cup in 2023 has been poor.
The Brave Blossoms also handed caps to six players and flyhalf Seungsin Lee said, "We lost out to them in the first half but our DNA is to play high-tempo rugby. We haven't been able to beat any of the top 10 teams in the world for a few years now so we're happy. More than anything, it gives us confidence."
Coming into the Test, Wales sat one place above Japan on World Rugby’s rankings log, in 12th, and this defeat meant it was Wales's 18th straight loss. The draw for the RWC 2027 will be made in December so rankings this year are more important than usual and the loss for Wales means they have dropped to 14th in the world rankings, below Japan and Samoa.
The Welsh scored three first-half tries through Ben Thomas, Tom Rogers and a penalty try but didn’t bother the scoreboard again after the break. For Japan, Takuro Matsunaga scored in the opening 40, before debutant Ichigo Nakakusu (who also gave away a penalty try and was sin-binned), and Halatoa Vailea both scored in the second period to take the lead within the final ten minutes and see the game out.
Interim senior men’s head coach Matt Sherratt said before the match that the whole group wanted an 80-minute performance, and they got exactly half of that.
"It hurts. Already, we've got to use that hurt to fuel next week because the great thing about this tour is that we get a chance next week to put it right."
It did not help that he substituted Josh Macleod at the break, and his absence in the second half was noticeable as they were less impactful at the breakdown, as Japan gained the upper hand.
The Welsh coach explained, “In the second half, some really big moments. I think we had a line-out around 45 minutes to take the game to three scores. It was a really tough call from the referee in terms of penalising us. When it's a young group and obviously we haven't had a win for a while, those little scars can start to run deep."
Jones said, “For Wales, to come from the Northern Hemisphere into these conditions was difficult. But like every Welsh team, they were tough to beat. They’re a proud rugby nation that produces tough, good players. We’re really happy with the win and we will enjoy it tonight, but we will focus now on Kobe, where we want to play much better than we did today.”
As another member of the All Things Rugby team said this weekend, it was one of the few times we had seen a Brave Blossoms team under Jones grow as the game went on and finish the stronger of the two sides.
The two sides will go again in Kobe on July 12 at Kobe’s Noevir Stadium, and the conditions are likely to be similar to those experienced in Kitakyushu.