15 November 2025: G: Principality Stadium (Wales) ; R: Matthew Carley (RFU)
●Japan 23-24 Wales○
Data:
15/11/2025, Challenge Tour 2025
Japan 23 – 24 Wales
Principality Stadium (Wales)
Half-time 7 – 7
Refree: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Crowd: 61,324
JAPAN: 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Kippei Ishida (23 Kazuma Ueda 77), 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence, 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Seungsin Lee (22 Shinya Komura 77), 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Kanji Shimokawa (20 Tyler Paul 70), 6 Jack Cornelsen, 5 Warner Dearns (capt), 4 Epineri Uluiviti (19 Harry Hockings 49), 3 Keijiro Tamefusa (18 Shuhei Takeuchi 49), 2 Kenji Sato, 1 Kenta Kobayashi (17 Sho Furuhata 77).
Reserves: 16 Shodai Hirao, 21 Kenda Fukuda, 22 Shinya Komura
HIA: 10 Seungsin Lee (77~80 Shinya Komura 22), 6 Gunter Ben (50~58 Michael Leitch 20).
Coach: Eddie Jones.
Tries: Kippei Ishida, Faulua Makisi.; Conversions: Seungsin Lee (2); Penalty Goals: Seungsin Lee (3); Drop Goals: None.
Red Cards: None, Yellow Cards: Epineri Uluiviti (25 Dangerous Play) , Faulua Makisi (30 Dangerous Play), Harry Hockings (80 Dangerous Play).
Wales: 15 Blair MURRAY, 14 Louis REES ZAMMIT, 13 Max LLEWELLYN, 12 Ben THOMAS, 11 Josh ADAMS (Red Card 23 Nick TOMPKINS 60), 10 Dan EDWARDS (22 Jarrod EVANS 79), 9 Tomos WILLIAMS, 8 Olly CRACKNELL, 7 Alex MANN, 6 Aaron WAINWRIGHT (20 Taine PLUMTREE 49), 5 Adam BEARD, 4 Dafydd JENKINS (19 Freddie THOMAS 77), 3 Archie GRIFFIN (18 Keiron ASSIRATTI 49), 2 Dewi LAKE (capt) (16 Liam BELCHER 77), 1 Nicky SMITH (17 Rhys CARRE 49).
Reserves: 21 Kieran HARDY.
HIA:
Tries: Dan EDWARDS, Louis REES ZAMMIT, Nick TOMPKINS.; Conversions: Dan EDWARDS (3); Penalty: Jarrod EVANS; Drop Goals: None.
Red Cards: Josh ADAMS, Yellow Cards: None.
Scoring sequence (Japan’s score shown first): 6min-try Wales, Dan EDWARDS-0-5; conv. Dan EDWARDS-0-7, 15min-try Japan, Kippei Ishida-5-7; conv. Seungsin Lee-7-7, 28min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee (missed)-7-7, 44min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee (missed)-7-7, 48min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-10-7, 51min-try Wales, Louis REES ZAMMIT-10-12; conv. Dan EDWARDS-10-14, 56min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-13-14, 60min-try Japan, Faulua Makisi-18-14; conv. Seungsin Lee-20-14, 63min-try Wales, Nick TOMPKINS-20-19; conv. Dan EDWARDS-20-21, 66min-pg Japan, Seungsin Lee-23-21, 83min-pg Wales, Jarrod EVANS-23-24.
Their historic first away win against a Tier 1 country (Wales) was wiped away by a single play in added time (the opponent's penalty kick). Also, considering their placement in Band 2 at the RWC 2027 in Australia, it was a match they desperately wanted to win.
Wales kicked off the match, launching an aggressive attack. In the fourth minute, Wales got PK after a Japan offside, earning a lineout 10 meters to the left of the Japanese goal. In the sixth minute, Wales attacked from this lineout, closing in on the Japanese goal with a vertical charge from their forwards. The Japanese defense held firm, but after a few phases, No. 10 Edwards, who had moved left from a central ruck, evaded the defender and dashed into the try zone (Edwards' goal made it 0-7). After the kickoff resumed, Japan took a penalty kick due to a Wales offside, kicking out the ball to touch 5 meters to the left of the Welsh goal, giving Japan the ball for the lineout. Cornelsen caught the ball, and Warner charged forward, launching a series of Japanese attacks. Japan launched an aggressive, lightning-fast attack, but their delivery at the ruck was disrupted, allowing Wales to steal the ball and kick it into touch. Japan caught the lineout and attempted to develop their attack, but a knock-forward from No. 11 Osada missed the opportunity. However, Japan's lightning-fast attack clearly worked against Wales. In the 11th minute, Japan obtained a lineout 5 meters to the right of the Welsh goal. Yazaki made a quick start and threw the ball to Saito, who passed it to Lee, who then kicked it into the open space. A try would have been guaranteed if it had landed in Maxi's chest on the far left, but unfortunately it was a knock-forward. In the 15th minute, Riley picked up a loose ball from Saito's high punt, broke through down the left side, made a big gain, and passed it to Sato. Sato also stepped up, evaded the defender, and broke through to the left of the 22-meter line, creating a ruck. After Warner's charge, Japan had moved to the right and Yazaki joined the line, drew Ishida's mark with a swerving, and passed the ball to the unmarked Ishida, who scored a try in the right corner (Lee's goal made it 7-7). It was a stunning try, embodying the ultra-fast rugby that Japan strives for. In the 21st minute, Japan secured a loose ball from a Welsh kick. Yazaki received the pass and ran 40 meters into the space, creating a chance, but the ball dropped out from the ruck and the chance was missed. In the 25th minute, Japan's No. 4 Epineli received a yellow card for a no-ball tackle against a Welsh attack. However, Japan fended off a Welsh attack with a hard tackle from Maxi. In the 28th minute, Lee's 35-meter penalty kick went wide to the right. In the 30th minute, No.8 Maxi received a yellow card for dangerous play, reducing Japan to 13 men. However, despite this difficult situation, Japan's 13 players remained united and made tenacious tackles to prevent Wales from scoring. When they secured possession of the ball, they launched successive attacks with solid rucks, using time. In the 40th minute, Wales' No. 11 Adams charged into the ruck without binding and was shown a yellow card (a red card was shown for the bunker system. Another player was substituted 20 minutes later). In the 44th minute, Lee's penalty kick hit the post and went wide, but Ishida made a good run and got to the loose ball. Although it did not result in a try, Japan managed to survive the crisis of being down to 13 men without conceding a single goal, and the first half ended in good form.
The second half began with a Japanese kickoff. Japan boldly played lightning-fast rugby, reaching the Wales 22-meter line, but an offload pass from Yazaki to Warner was ruled a throw-forward. In the 46th minute, Japan launched a 13-phase attack, leading to a lineout 5 meters to the left of the Welsh goal with a kick from Riley. Japan continued their aggressive attacks from a lineout that Wales had sent into touch, earning a penalty kick. In the 48th minute, Lee converted a penalty kick from 35 meters in front of the goal to give Japan the lead (10-7). In the 49th minute, No. 19 Hockings (first cap, 208 cm) replaced No. 4 Epineli. However, Saito's high punt was short and was subsequently called 10-meter circle offside. Wales kicked out the ball to the touch line10 meters to the right of the Japanese goal, and from the lineout, their forwards repeatedly charged forward in an attempt to score a try. Then, in the 51st minute, Wales sent a long pass from a ruck in front of the goal to No. 14 Rees-Zammit, diving into the right corner (Edwards' goal put the score at 10-14). Japan continued to attack and closed to Wales goal, earning a penalty kick in the 56th minute. Instead of a try, Lee scored a 15-meter penalty goal to close the score gap (13-14). Japan then launched aggressive attacks with both their forwards and backs working together.
In the 60th minute, a Wales penalty resulted in a lineout 5 meters to the left of the Welsh goal. Japan continued to close the gap with consecutive attacks, and their forwards charged forwards, looking for atry opportunity. Finally, Maxi scored a try into the try zone to take the lead (Lee's goal put the score at20-14). Japan wanted to play it safe here, but after the kickoff, they committed an off-feet penalty at aruck in their own half. Wales then took a penalty kick and earned a lineout 8 meters to the right of theJapanese goal, and their forwards used their vertical attacks to close the gap to the Japanese goal. Wales won consecutive rucks and finally scored a try in the 63rd minute, with No. 23 Tompkins scoring a try, followed by a goal from Edwards to put Wales back on the lead (20-21). After the kick-off resumed, Japan, earned a penalty kick after Wales obstruction, and in the 66th minute, Lee scored a 35m penalty kick to put Japan back on the lead (23-21). After the restart, Japan continued to play offensively, launching a series of aggressive attacks to throw Wales off balance. In the 71st minute, Japan earned a penalty kick to the right of the Welsh goal and kicked it into touch, resulting in a lineout 5 meters to the right of the goal. However, the ball was dropped during the maul, giving Wales possession of the ball for the scrum. Wales applied pressure during this scrum and earned a penalty kick. A poor touch kick resulted in a lineout on the left near the center of the Welsh 10-meter and 22-meter lines. From there, they pushed forward with a maul, and while punishing Japan for a side-entry foul, they launched an aggressive open attack. Against Wales' fierce attack, Japan displayed tenacious defense and persevered. They aggressively played lightning-fast rugby, aiming for a try that would secure victory if they seized the ball. However, in the 75th minute, Wales stole the ball at a ruck near the center of the Welsh 22-meter line and kicked it into the Japanese half. In the 76th minute, a Wales foul near the halfway line gave Japan a victory flow. However, Lee was sent off for HIA judgement, and Komura came on to take the penalty kick into touch, resulting in a lineout on the right 22 meters of the Welsh half. Japan earned the ball, but poor distribution led to a lineout for Wales. Japan continued to thwart Wales' successive attacks with tenacious tackles, and Maxi's jackal stole the ball back. Japan also made some solid tackles to fend off Wales' lineout attacks with less than a minute remaining. In the 80th minute, Hockings received ayellow card for dangerous play, reducing Japan to 14 men. Wales continued their onslaught, and despite two use-it calls during a lineout maul, Wales continued to push the maul closer to the goal. In the 83rd minute of added time, Japan committed a desperately foul that should have been avoided in front of the goal. Wales' No. 22 Evans, in a tense moment, scored a penalty from the left edge (23-24), sealing Wales' comeback victory. Both the players and the crowd were so ecstatic to win Japan that we Japanese can never imagine.
Unlike South Africa and Ireland, Japan proved they could compete on equal terms with Wales, who are close in the rankings. Even with just 13 men in the first half, Japan's lightning-fast rugby was on full display. However, Japan allowed the other team to take the lead again immediately after making a great play. This was due to the fact that they gave away a penalty kick after the restart for being offside in the 10m circle and off-foot. In their next match against Georgia, I hope they will avoid making easy fouls, and instead win at all costs by using stronger defense and even more bold and lightning-fast attacks than today.