2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan

2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan
2025 Wales rugby union tour of Japan
Date	5–12 July 2025
Coach(es)	Matt Sherratt
Tour captain(s)	Dewi Lake
Summary
P	W
Total
02	01
Opponent
P	W
Japan
2	1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	Australia 2024

Last updated July 13, 2025

The Wales national rugby union team toured Japan in July 2025, as part of the 2025 mid-year rugby union tests. The first test against the Japan national team took place at the Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu on 5 July, followed by the second test at the Noevir Stadium Kobe a week later.

It was 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 played 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	22–31	Wales	^[6]

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'	Report	Try: 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	22–31	Wales
Try: Takeuchi 40' c Dearns 59' m Riley 62' c Con: Seung-sin (2/3) 40+1', 63' Pen: Seung-sin (1/1) 24'	Report	Try: Adams 9' c Hardy (2) 28' c, 36' c Edwards 75' c Con: Edwards (4/4) 10', 29', 37', 76' Pen: Edwards (1/1) 49'

Noevir Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 25,074
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)


FB	15	Ichigo Nakakusu	56'
RW	14	Kippei Ishida
OC	13	Dylan Riley
IC	12	Shōgo Nakano
LW	11	Halatoa Vailea
FH	10	Lee Seung-sin
SH	9	Naoto Saitō	56'
N8	8	Faulua Makisi	53'
OF	7	Jack Cornelsen
BF	6	Michael Leitch (c)
RL	5	Warner Dearns
LL	4	Epineri Uluiviti	40'
TP	3	Keijiro Tamefusa	37'
HK	2	Mamoru Harada	37'
LP	1	Yota Kamimori	37'
Substitutions:
HK	16	Hayate Era	37'
PR	17	Sena Kimura	37'
PR	18	Shuhei Takeuchi	37'
LK	19	Waisake Raratubua	40'
FL	20	Ben Gunter	53'
SH	21	Shinobu Fujiwara	56'
FH	22	Sam Greene	56'
WG	23	Kazuma Ueda
Coach:
Eddie Jones


FB	15	Blair Murray
RW	14	Tom Rogers
OC	13	Johnny Williams	65'
IC	12	Ben Thomas
LW	11	Josh Adams	40'
FH	10	Dan Edwards
SH	9	Kieran Hardy
N8	8	Aaron Wainwright
OF	7	Josh Macleod	76'
BF	6	Alex Mann	49'
RL	5	Teddy Williams
LL	4	Freddie Thomas	67'
TP	3	Archie Griffin	60'
HK	2	Dewi Lake (c)	60'
LP	1	Nicky Smith	40'
Substitutions:
HK	16	Liam Belcher	60'
PR	17	Gareth Thomas	40'
PR	18	Christian Coleman	60'
FL	19	James Ratti	67'
N8	20	Taine Plumtree	49'
FL	21	Tommy Reffell	76'
SH	22	Reuben Morgan-Williams	65'
WG	23	Keelan Giles	40'
Coach:
Matt Sherratt

Player of the Match:
Warner Dearns (Japan)

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

Notes:

Hayate Era, Sam Greene, Sena Kimura (all Japan), Christian Coleman, Keelan Giles and Reuben Morgan-Williams (all Wales) made their international debuts.
Wales ended their 18-match losing streak, winning a test match for the first time since their 43–19 win over Georgia during the 2023 Rugby World Cup (643 days).

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.^[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
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.^[8]

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'	Report	Try: 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 ^[9]
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Team details


FB	15	Jingo Takenoshita
RW	14	Taira Main	53'
OC	13	Siosaia Fifita	25'
IC	12	Charlie Lawrence
LW	11	Kazuma Ueda
FH	10	Sam Greene
SH	9	Kenta Fukuda	60'
N8	8	Akito Okui	60'
OF	7	Kanji Shimokawa (c)
BF	6	Vueti Tupou	67'
RL	5	Waisake Raratubua
LL	4	Epineri Uluiviti
TP	3	Shuhei Takeuchi	73'
HK	2	Hayate Era	65'
LP	1	Kenta Kobayashi	53'
Substitutions:
HK	16	Kenji Sato	65'
PR	17	Sena Kimura	53'
PR	18	Sanshiro Kihara	73'
LK	19	Shu Yamamoto	67'
FL	20	Taishiro Kido	60'
SH	21	Shuntaro Kitamura	60'
FH	22	Nakakusu Ichigo	25'
FB	23	Halatoa Vailea	53'
Coach:
Neal Hatley


FB	15	Zarn Sullivan	60'
RW	14	Cole Forbes
OC	13	Bailyn Sullivan	69'
IC	12	Gideon Wrampling
LW	11	Jonah Lowe
FH	10	Rivez Reihana
SH	9	Sam Nock	60'
N8	8	Cullen Grace
OF	7	Jahrome Brown
BF	6	TK Howden	64'
RL	5	Laghlan McWhannell	57'
LL	4	Isaia Walker-Leawere
TP	3	Kershawl Sykes-Martin	49'
HK	2	Kurt Eklund (c)	61'
LP	1	Jared Proffit	53'
Substitutions:
HK	16	Jacob Devery	61'
PR	17	Pouri Rakete-Stones	53'
PR	18	Benet Kumeroa	49'
LK	19	Zach Gallagher	57'
FL	20	Caleb Delany	64'
SH	21	Kemara Hauiti-Parapara	60'
FH	22	Kaleb Trask	60'
CE	23	Xavi Taele	69'
Coach:
Ross Filipo

Assistant referees:
Luke Pearce (England)
Damian Schneider (Argentina)
Television match official:
Ian Tempest (England)

References

↑ "Wales look to reschedule postponed summer games". BBC Sport. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
↑ "Wales to play two summer Tests in Japan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
↑ "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". Japan Rugby Football Union. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
1 2 "Caretaker coach Sherratt to lead Wales in Japan". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
↑ Japan score late try to extend Wales' winless run
↑ Wales break 18-match losing run with win in Japan
↑ "Wales name six new caps as Lake leads Japan tour". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
↑ 30 June - Japan National Team Miyazaki Training Camp Participants Announcement
↑ "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[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.

[JRFU-3] "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". Japan Rugby Football Union. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.

[sherratt-4] 1 2 "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 break 18-match losing run with win in Japan

[7] "Wales name six new caps as Lake leads Japan tour". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.

[8] 30 June - Japan National Team Miyazaki Training Camp Participants Announcement

[Japan_tests-9] "JRFU Announce Men's Fifteens Domestic Match Schedule". 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]