2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan

2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan
Date5–12 July 2025
Coach(es)Matt Sherratt
Tour captain(s)Dewi Lake
Summary
P W D L
Total
1 0 0 1
Opponent
P W D L
 Japan
1 0 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tourAustralia 2024

The Wales national rugby union team is scheduled to tour Japan in July 2025, as part of the 2025 mid-year rugby union tests. The first test against the Japan national team is scheduled to be played at the Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu on 5 July, followed by the second test at the Noevir Stadium Kobe a week later. It will be Wales' third tour to Japan and their first since 2013, having cancelled a tour to Japan and New Zealand in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] That 2013 tour saw Japan record their only win over Wales in 14 previous meetings, including ten tests. The most recent meeting finished in a 33–30 win for Wales in Cardiff in November 2016.[2] Before the series, a Japan XV will play a match against the Māori All Blacks.[3] Cardiff Rugby head coach Matt Sherratt was named as coach for the tour, resuming the role he filled for the last three games of the 2025 Six Nations Championship, following the resignation of Warren Gatland.[4]

Fixtures

Date Venue Home Score Away Source
5 July 2025 Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu Japan  24–19  Wales [5]
12 July 2025 Noevir Stadium, Kobe Japan  v  Wales

Matches

First test

5 July 2025
14:00 JST (UTC+09)
Japan 24–19 Wales
Try: Matsunaga 16' c
Nakakusu 59' c
Vailea 70' c
Con: Seung-sin (3/3) 17', 60', 71'
Pen: Seung-sin (1/1) 64'		ReportTry: Thomas 4' c
Penalty try 20'
Rogers 22' m
Con: Costelow (1/2) 5'
Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu
Attendance: 13,487
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
FB 15 Takuro Matsunaga  19'
RW 14 Kippei Ishida
OC 13 Dylan Riley
IC 12 Shōgo Nakano
LW 11 Malo Tuitama  51'
FH 10 Lee Seung-sin
SH 9 Shinobu Fujiwara  79'
N8 8 Amato Fakatava  56'
OF 7 Jack Cornelsen
BF 6 Michael Leitch (c)
RL 5 Warner Dearns
LL 4 Epineri Uluiviti  56'
TP 3 Shuhei Takeuchi
HK 2 Mamoru Harada
LP 1 Yota Kamimori
Substitutions:
HK 16 Hayate Era
PR 17 Sena Kimura
PR 18 Keijiro Tamefusa
LK 19 Waisake Raratubua  56'
FL 20 Ben Gunter  56'
SH 21 Shuntaro Kitamura  79'
FH 22 Ichigo Nakakusu  20'  19'
FB 23 Halatoa Vailea  51'
Coach:
Eddie Jones
FB 15 Blair Murray
RW 14 Tom Rogers
OC 13 Johnny Williams  68'
IC 12 Ben Thomas
LW 11 Josh Adams
FH 10 Sam Costelow
SH 9 Kieran Hardy
N8 8 Taulupe Faletau  57'
OF 7 Josh Macleod  57'
BF 6 Alex Mann
RL 5 Teddy Williams
LL 4 Ben Carter  1'
TP 3 Keiron Assiratti  51'
HK 2 Dewi Lake (c)  68'
LP 1 Nicky Smith  51'
Substitutions:
HK 16 Liam Belcher  68'
PR 17 Gareth Thomas  51'
PR 18 Archie Griffin  51'
FL 19 James Ratti  1'
FL 20 Aaron Wainwright  57'
FL 21 Tommy Reffell  57'
SH 22 Rhodri Williams
CE 23 Joe Roberts  68'
Coach:
Matt Sherratt

Player of the Match:
Mamoru Harada (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Karl Dickson (England)
Luke Pearce (England)
Television match official:
Ian Tempest (England)
Foul play review officer:
Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Notes:

  • Ichigo Nakakusu, Kippei Ishida, Yota Kamimori, Shuntaro Kitamura, Waisake Raratubua, Halatoa Vailea (all Japan) and Liam Belcher (Wales) made their international debuts.
  • Japan win against a Tier 1 side for the first time since 2019, where they won against Scotland 28–21.
  • With this loss, Wales drop to 14th on the World Rugby Rankings, their lowest position.

Second test

12 July 2025
14:50 JST (UTC+09)
Japan v Wales
Noevir Stadium Kobe
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Squads

Wales

Wales were still without a permanent coach following the resignation of Warren Gatland during the 2025 Six Nations Championship. Cardiff Rugby head coach Matt Sherratt was appointed for the final three games of that tournament, and retained the role for the tour to Japan. Cardiff defence coach Gethin Jenkins was also appointed as an assistant, along with Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson and his assistant Adam Jones, and Gloucester's T. Rhys Thomas.[4] Sherratt named a squad of 33 for the tour, including six uncapped players, and named Dewi Lake as captain with Jac Morgan (alongside scrum-half Tomos Williams) being included in the British & Irish Lions' squad for their tour to Australia. Lock Dafydd Jenkins was ruled out of the tour in order to undergo surgery, while fellow locks Adam Beard and Will Rowlands were rested. Prop Henry Thomas was also ruled out while he seeks a specialist opinion on a long-term injury. Also omitted from the squad were wing Ellis Mee, fly-half Gareth Anscombe, centres Max Llewellyn and Nick Tompkins, flanker James Botham and hooker Evan Lloyd. Lock Ben Carter, fly-half Sam Costelow and prop Archie Griffin were recalled after missing the Six Nations due to injury, while scrum-half Kieran Hardy, back-rowers Alex Mann, Josh Macleod and James Ratti, centre Johnny Williams and full-back Cameron Winnett also made a return to the squad.[6]

Caps and ages are as of the first match of the tour (5 July 2025).

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Liam Belcher Hooker (1996-04-28)28 April 1996 (aged 29) 0 Cardiff
Elliot Dee Hooker (1994-03-07)7 March 1994 (aged 31) 56 Dragons
Dewi Lake (captain) Hooker (1999-03-16)16 March 1999 (aged 26) 20 Ospreys
Keiron Assiratti Prop (1997-06-30)30 June 1997 (aged 28) 14 Cardiff
Christian Coleman Prop (1998-08-31)31 August 1998 (aged 26) 0 Dragons
Archie Griffin Prop (2001-07-24)24 July 2001 (aged 23) 6 Bath
Garyn Phillips Prop (2001-05-14)14 May 2001 (aged 24) 0 Ospreys
Nicky Smith Prop (1994-04-07)7 April 1994 (aged 31) 54 Leicester Tigers
Gareth Thomas Prop (1993-08-02)2 August 1993 (aged 31) 40 Ospreys
Ben Carter Lock (2001-01-23)23 January 2001 (aged 24) 12 Dragons
Freddie Thomas Lock (2001-11-09)9 November 2001 (aged 23) 3 Gloucester
Teddy Williams Lock (2000-10-18)18 October 2000 (aged 24) 6 Cardiff
Taulupe Faletau Back row (1990-11-12)12 November 1990 (aged 34) 108 Cardiff
Josh Macleod Back row (1996-10-26)26 October 1996 (aged 28) 2 Scarlets
Alex Mann Back row (2002-01-06)6 January 2002 (aged 23) 5 Cardiff
Taine Plumtree Back row (2000-03-09)9 March 2000 (aged 25) 7 Scarlets
James Ratti Back row (1997-10-14)14 October 1997 (aged 27) 1 Ospreys
Tommy Reffell Back row (1999-04-27)27 April 1999 (aged 26) 27 Leicester Tigers
Aaron Wainwright Back row (1997-09-25)25 September 1997 (aged 27) 57 Dragons
Kieran Hardy Scrum-half (1995-11-30)30 November 1995 (aged 29) 23 Ospreys
Reuben Morgan-Williams Scrum-half (1998-02-03)3 February 1998 (aged 27) 0 Ospreys
Rhodri Williams Scrum-half (1993-05-05)5 May 1993 (aged 32) 9 Dragons
Sam Costelow Fly-half (2001-01-10)10 January 2001 (aged 24) 18 Scarlets
Dan Edwards Fly-half (2003-05-07)7 May 2003 (aged 22) 2 Ospreys
Macs Page Centre (2004-12-17)17 December 2004 (aged 20) 0 Scarlets
Joe Roberts Centre (2000-05-10)10 May 2000 (aged 25) 5 Scarlets
Ben Thomas Centre (1998-11-25)25 November 1998 (aged 26) 12 Cardiff
Johnny Williams Centre (1996-10-18)18 October 1996 (aged 28) 5 Scarlets
Josh Adams Wing (1995-04-21)21 April 1995 (aged 30) 61 Cardiff
Keelan Giles Wing (1998-01-29)29 January 1998 (aged 27) 0 Ospreys
Blair Murray Wing (2001-10-09)9 October 2001 (aged 23) 8 Scarlets
Tom Rogers Wing (1998-12-17)17 December 1998 (aged 26) 9 Scarlets
Cameron Winnett Fullback (2003-01-07)7 January 2003 (aged 22) 9 Cardiff

Japan

On 12 June, Eddie Jones named a wider squad of 37 players to prepare for their matches against the Māori All Blacks (as Japan XV), and their test series against Wales. On 18 June, Shuntaro Kitamura and Asahi Doei were called up as additional cover ahead of the Japan XV game against the Māori All Blacks, and on 29 June, Japan finalised their squad for their two-test series against Wales, following their Japan XV match, which saw some trail players form the Japan XV squad remain with the senior team of the series.[7]

Caps and ages are as of the first match of the tour (5 July 2025).

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Hayate Era Hooker (2001-09-18)18 September 2001 (aged 23) 0 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Mamoru Harada Hooker (1999-04-15)15 April 1999 (aged 26) 10 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Kenji Sato Hooker (2003-01-04)4 January 2003 (aged 22) 0 Saitama Wild Knights
Yota Kamimori Prop (1999-04-26)26 April 1999 (aged 26) 0 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Sanshiro Kihara Prop (2003-01-20)20 January 2003 (aged 22) 0 Tokyo Sungoliath
Sena Kimura Prop (1999-06-24)24 June 1999 (aged 26) 0 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Kenta Kobayashi Prop (1999-06-02)2 June 1999 (aged 26) 0 Tokyo Sungoliath
Shuhei Takeuchi Prop (1997-12-09)9 December 1997 (aged 27) 13 Urayasu D-Rocks
Keijiro Tamefusa Prop (2001-09-03)3 September 2001 (aged 23) 10 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Jack Cornelsen Lock (1994-10-13)13 October 1994 (aged 30) 20 Saitama Wild Knights
Warner Dearns Lock (2002-04-11)11 April 2002 (aged 23) 21 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Waisake Raratubua Lock (1998-03-17)17 March 1998 (aged 27) 0 Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Vueti Tupou Lock (2000-04-02)2 April 2000 (aged 25) 0 Shizuoka Blue Revs
Epineri Uluiviti Lock (1996-07-07)7 July 1996 (aged 28) 6 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
Amato Fakatava Back row (1994-12-07)7 December 1994 (aged 30) 13 Black Rams Tokyo
Ben Gunter Back row (1997-10-24)24 October 1997 (aged 27) 9 Saitama Wild Knights
Taishiro Kido Back row (2002-07-26)26 July 2002 (aged 22) 0 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Michael Leitch Back row (1988-10-07)7 October 1988 (aged 36) 87 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Faulua Makisi Back row (1997-01-20)20 January 1997 (aged 28) 15 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Akito Okui Back row (2001-09-17)17 September 2001 (aged 23) 0 Toyota Verblitz
Kanji Shimokawa Back row (1999-01-17)17 January 1999 (aged 26) 14 Tokyo Sungoliath
Asahi Doei Scrum-half (2003-01-09)9 January 2003 (aged 22) 0 Yokohama Canon Eagles
Shinobu Fujiwara Scrum-half (1999-02-08)8 February 1999 (aged 26) 10 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Kenta Fukuda Scrum-half (1996-12-19)19 December 1996 (aged 28) 1 Tokyo Sungoliath
Shuntaro Kitamura Scrum-half (2002-03-28)28 March 2002 (aged 23) 0 Shizuoka Blue Revs
Naoto Saitō Scrum-half (1997-08-26)26 August 1997 (aged 27) 24 Toulouse
Sam Greene Fly-half (1994-08-16)16 August 1994 (aged 30) 0 Shizuoka Blue Revs
Nakakusu Ichigo Fly-half (2000-06-01)1 June 2000 (aged 25) 0 Black Rams Tokyo
Kotaro Ito Fly-half (2001-11-15)15 November 2001 (aged 23) 0 Black Rams Tokyo
Lee Seung-sin Fly-half (2001-01-13)13 January 2001 (aged 24) 18 Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Yuya Hirose Centre (2001-04-07)7 April 2001 (aged 24) 0 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay
Charlie Lawrence Centre (1998-05-27)27 May 1998 (aged 27) 0 Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars
Shōgo Nakano Centre (1997-06-11)11 June 1997 (aged 28) 7 Tokyo Sungoliath
Dylan Riley Centre (1997-05-02)2 May 1997 (aged 28) 28 Saitama Wild Knights
Siosaia Fifita Wing (1998-12-20)20 December 1998 (aged 26) 16 Toyota Verblitz
Kippei Ishida Wing (2000-04-28)28 April 2000 (aged 25) 0 Kobelco Kobe Steelers
Malo Tuitama Wing (1996-03-23)23 March 1996 (aged 29) 7 Shizuoka Blue Revs
Kazuma Ueda Wing (2002-12-04)4 December 2002 (aged 22) 0 Yokohama Canon Eagles
Takuro Matsunaga Fullback (1998-08-13)13 August 1998 (aged 26) 4 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Jingo Takenoshita Fullback (2004-06-11)11 June 2004 (aged 21) 0 Meiji University
Halatoa Vailea Fullback (1999-02-14)14 February 1999 (aged 26) 0 Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay

Japan XV v Maori All Blacks (Japan series warm-up match)

28 June 2025
18:00 JST (UTC+09)
Japan XV 20–53 Māori All Blacks
Try: Ueda (2) 9' c, 32' c
Con: Greene (2/2) 10', 33'
Pen: Greene (2/2) 20', 50'		ReportTry: Forbes 23' m
Wrampling 28' m
Eklund 35' m
McWhannell 43' c
Sullivan 52' c
Nock 59' c
Brown 66' c
Hauiti-Parapara 72' m
Trask 80+1' m
Con: Reihana (5/9) 44', 53', 60', 67'
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo[8]
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wales look to reschedule postponed summer games". BBC Sport. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  2. ^ "Wales to play two summer Tests in Japan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  3. ^ "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". Japan Rugby Football Union. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Caretaker coach Sherratt to lead Wales in Japan". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. ^ Japan score late try to extend Wales' winless run
  6. ^ "Wales name six new caps as Lake leads Japan tour". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  7. ^ 30 June - Japan National Team Miyazaki Training Camp Participants Announcement
  8. ^ "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
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