Wales aim to cap 2026 revival with Japan double

Published4 hours ago

Wales have the opportunity to finish the international year on a high on Saturday as they seek to complete the double over Japan.

Sean Lynn's side have already racked up two wins from three in the WXV Global Series, including last weekend's 17-0 victory in Tokyo.

And while they go into the contest as favourites, Lynn insists they will not be taking the Sakura Fifteen lightly, especially given recent performances against Ireland.

"We were wary about them last Saturday and we see no difference this week," he said.

"Japan are very efficient, very regimented. Some of their defensive displays were very good [last weekend] and they're a hard side to break down."

Victory would not see Wales break back into the world's top 10, but will certainly be progress for a side which previously went nine Test matches without a win.

The question is, can they cap 2026's revival with one last W?

Japan v Wales

WXV Global Series

Saturday, 31 October at 07:00 (GMT)

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Saitama Prefecture

Live on iplayer and BBC Sport website & app. Audio commentary on Sounds, BBC Radio Wales Extra & BBC Radio Cymru.

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Team news

The fact that Lynn has boldly made five starting changes shows the strength in depth he has built in the squad during his 18 months in charge.

Bethan Lewis, Gwenllian Pyrs, Lleucu George, Gwen Crabb and Courtney Keight - who have a combined 248 Test caps - are all back in the XV having impressed off the bench last weekend.

"Certain individuals went really well, they deserve those starts," said Lynn.

"Gwenllian Pyrs, the way she tightened up that scrum in the second half was really pleasing for us. Gwen Crabb and Bethan Lewis are very good set piece operators.

"And then Lleucu George, some of her territorial game was good, but also her passing game was exciting."

Keight comes in for the injured Freya Bell, one of the youngsters to have impressed since stepping up to senior level earlier this year.

Co-captain Alex Callender moves to number eight as the one positional switch.

Japan have made three starting changes, with Komachi Imakugi getting the nod at full-back and Mele Yua Havili Kagawa coming onto the wing.

Flanker Nduka Jennier is the only change to the pack.

Number eight Savannah Bodman and centre Sophie Akiko Langford retain their places after impressing on debut last week, while scrum-half Moe Tsukui will lead the side out at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.

Test form guide

Hosts Japan have not tasted victory since beating Hong King China to secure their seventh consecutive Asia Rugby Women's Championship in May.

But there have been some notable performances, including pushing Ireland all the way in Galway in the first of last month's double-header.

Japan 0-17 Wales

Ireland 43-19 Japan

Ireland 31-24 Japan

Italy 55-21 Japan

Japan 12-15 Fiji

Hong Kong China 12-71 Japan

Wales are looking to back-up last weekend's performance, which was the first time they had kept a clean sheet in eight years.

Victory on Saturday would also see Wales secure back-to-back Test wins for the first time since June 2024.

Japan 0-17 Wales

Wales 24-26 USA

Wales 50-19 South Africa

Wales 24-43 Italy

Ireland 33-12 Wales

England 62-24 Wales

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View from the camp

Wales co-captain Alex Callender said there was a frustration in camp after last weekend, but nilling a team away from home was "a pretty good scoreline".

"We know that Japan will be wounded and that they'll be coming out for 80 minutes again," she said.

"It's about backing up the win but also putting in a better performance to come off the field and really know that we've given everything.

"Hopefully we can play a little bit more free-flowing rugby and enjoy it a lot more."

Reflecting on the campaign as a whole, Callender added: "We spoke about what we wanted to get out of this WXV, and if we can come away with a result this weekend, I'd be so proud of the girls."

Commentator's notes

BBC Wales commentator Gareth Rhys Owen said: "Wales won ugly last weekend. The 17-0 victory was a pretty horrible game to watch, but they found a way to win in difficult conditions.

"Perhaps the most encouraging sign of progress was how self-critical Wales were afterwards. For so long, the conversation has been about finding positives in defeat. Now they're identifying shortcomings in victory. That's a significant shift in mentality.

"The selection of Lleucu George ahead of Keira Bevan at fly-half is also intriguing. Wales will eventually have to settle on their first-choice number 10 and build some continuity.

"Before this double-header, Wales would surely have taken two ugly wins over Japan. They probably still would."

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Line-ups

Japan: Imakugi; Tsunokawa, Langford, Kataoka, Havili Kagawa; Harada, Tsukui; Komaki, Nagaoka, Kitano, Kawamura, Sato, Asari, Jennifer, Bodman,

Replacements: Kuge, Mine, Fuji, M Nishimura, Korai, Seo, Ito, S Nishimura

Wales: Neumann; N Metcalfe, Cox, Keight, A Williams; George, Lockwood, Pyrs, K Jones, Tuipulotu, B Metcalfe, Crabb, K Williams (co-capt), Lewis, Callender (co-capt).

Replacements: Reardon, Davies, E Jones, Aiono, Evans, King, Bevan, De Vera.

Referee: Julianne Zussman (RC)

Assistants: Sunny Lee (HKCR), Hibiki Ikeda (JRFU)

TMO: Matt Rodden (HKCR)

FPRO: Koki Yamauchi (JRFU)

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