Wales’ misery continues as Eddie Jones’ Japan condemns them to 18th successive loss
Japan fly-half Seungsin Lee.
Japan made an outstanding start to their two-Test series against Wales when they clinched a 24-19 triumph in their first clash in Kitakyushu on Saturday.
The result is a momentous one for the Brave Blossoms as it is only their second-ever win in 15 matches against Wales and their first triumph in this fixture since 2013.
Japan‘s head coach Eddie Jones, who also masterminded that win in Tokyo, will be delighted that his side managed to repeat that feat and will be full of confidence ahead of next weekend’s second Test in Kobe.
Meanwhile, Wales‘ horrific run at international level continues as they have now lost a record 18 Tests in a row and they only have themselves to blame for this defeat as they held a 19-7 lead at half-time.
Japan launched a stunning comeback in the second half, however, and were deserved winners in the end.
Both sides scored three tries apiece with Takuro Matsunaga, Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea crossing the whitewash for the home side while Seungsin Lee finished with nine-point contribution after succeeding with three conversions and a penalty.
For the visitors, Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers dotted down while they were also awarded a penalty try while Sam Costelow added a conversion.
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Wales were fastest out of the blocks and opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when they won possession at a lineout deep inside Brave Blossoms territory.
From the set-piece, Taulupe Faletau launched an attack and drew in a couple of defenders before offloading to the on-rushing Thomas, who crashed over for a deserved try.
Costelow added the extras before Japan struck back in the 16th minute when Matsunaga crossed for his five-pointer after excellent work from Kippei Ishida in the build-up.
Midway through the half, Wales extended their lead courtesy of a penalty try after Ichigo Nakakusu deliberately slapped the ball out of Josh Adams’ hands close to Japan’s try-line and Nakakusu was also yellow carded for his indiscretion.
Two minutes later, Rogers got over for his try after finding himself in space down the left-hand touchline and showing the defence a clean pair of heels with a blistering run before dotting down.
The rest of the half was characterised by plenty of thrilling action but neither side managed to score further points until half-time.
The second half was a completely different story as the Brave Blossoms soon took control of proceedings and they were rewarded in the 59th minute when Nakakusu crossed in the left-hand corner.
Lee added the extras and slotted a penalty five minutes later which meant the match was evenly poised with Wales holding a slender 19-17 lead.
Japan continued to attack as the half progressed and in the 70th minute they went ahead when Vailea crossed for his converted try off the back of a maul deep inside the visitors 22.
That gave the hosts the lead for the first time in the match and although Wales tried desperately to strike back in the game’s closing stages, it wasn’t to be as the Brave Blossoms held for a deserved victory.
The teams
Japan: 15 Takuro Matsunaga, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Shogo Nakano, 11 Malo Tuitama, 10 Seungsin Lee, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 8 Amato Fakatava, 7 Jack Cornelsen, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Warner Deans, 4 Epineri Uluiviti, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Yota Kamimori
Replacements: 16 Hayate Era, 17 Sena Kimura, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Waisake Raratubua, 20 Ben Gunter, 21 Shuntaro Kitamura, 22 Ichigo Nakakusu, 23 Halatoa Vailea
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Johnny Williams, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 James Ratti, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tommy Reffell, 22 Rhodri Williams, 23 Joe Roberts
Referee: Damian Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Luke Pearce (RFU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
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