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Takeuchi (39'), Dearns (58'), Riley (61')
Tries
Adams (8'), Hardy (27', 35'), Edwards (74')
Lee (40', 62')
Conversions
Edwards (9', 28', 36', 75')
Lee (23')
Penalties
Edwards (48')
Wales won the second of the two Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025 matches against Japan on 12th July under the closed roof of the Noevir Stadium in Kobe 33-21, and earned their first Test win since 2023 and ended a run of 18 defeats.
Senior men’s head coach Matt Sherratt said it was the end of a long season and the end of 644 days without a Welsh Men’s Test win. "I've genuinely never wanted to win a game of rugby so much. I've been around for four games, but I see what it means to them, what it means to the staff. I was so pleased with this group, there's not been a more deserving group that I've worked with, so it was pretty emotional."
At the end of the first half, the visitors were deservedly ahead 21-10 but after suffering so much heartbreak with the losses over the past two years, and having seen their collapse last week in the 24-19 loss at Kitakyushu’s Mikuni World Stadium where they also led at the break, the scoreline would not have calmed any nerves. Josh Adams, Kieran Hardy (2) were the Welsh try scorers, and one from Shuhei Takeuchi for the Brave Blossoms.
Photo by Kaori Matsumoto
Faulua Makisi was also in the sin bin in the first half, which Wales capitalised on.
The Brave Blossoms did stage another fightback, and heading into the final quarter, it was only a two-point lead the Welsh had with the scoreboard at 24-22. Japan had made substitutions (including the front row), and were getting better parity at the scrum, were moving the ball more, and kicked less, while also playing the game at the tempo they wanted. Try scorers for Japan to close the lead were Werner Deans from a charge down, and Dylan Riley.
This time, the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi finalists held their nerve and ran out 31-22 victors, and had the better of the game in the final quarter - Dan Edwards scoring the try that sealed the win.
The importance of the result was clear to see in the emotional outpouring from the Welsh bench, and in particular their captain at the final whistle. 18 straight defeats and no more.
Japanese captain Michael Leitch said, "We haven't started well in two consecutive games. We need to improve. I felt the difficulty of winning consecutive games. I was confident that we could win by running in the second half, but small things (there were many small mistakes) that made a big difference. It was a learning experience for the team.”
He praised Wales, saying they held onto the ball well and were much improved in defence.
Photo by Kaori Matsumoto
Brave Blossoms Head Coach Eddie Jones had called on the home side to make history but instead the Welsh made their own history. Jones said that not getting into the match in the first half cost them.
"I think many of the young players were excited about the first game, with adrenaline pumping from their first big game. After a game like that, the second game was waiting for them. It's difficult to reset your emotions and head into the (new) game. You have to switch gears and re-establish your feelings toward an opponent you've already beaten. That was also a reason we struggled. It was also a lesson. I had said that we needed to start the second game with even more intensity (than the first), but we weren't able to do that. Players with experience can perform consistently in the next game, regardless of whether they win or lose the first game."
Matt Sherratt said of whoever takes over next, “The next guy coming in - the big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck.
That was a big motivation for me coming in. The work's got to be done now with the national coaches in the regions, let's get into the regions and help develop a good young group of players."
In terms of the World Rugby rankings, Wales has moved ahead of Japan again to 12th, while Japan slipped to 14th.
