Wales beat Japan to end record 18-game losing run

Wales edged Japan 31-22 in Kobe on Saturday to end their record 18-game losing streak and pick up their first win since the 2023 World Cup.

A Josh Adams try and a Kieran Hardy double gave the Welsh a half-time lead and Dan Edwards scored another late in the game to kill off Japan's comeback in 32 degree Celsius conditions under a closed roof.

It was Wales's first win since they beat Georgia in October 2023, and their losing streak had been a record for a Tier One country in the professional era.

They lost 24-19 to Japan in last week's first test after squandering a half-time lead and there was almost a repeat performance.

Japan scored on the stroke of half-time and added two more tries after the break but Edwards, making his first Wales start, scored in the 75th minute to secure the long-awaited win.

Wales started strongly and scored their first try in the ninth minute when Blair Murray broke forward and fed Adams to canter over the line.

Adams came close to adding another midway through the first half when the ball bounced up nicely for him as he chased it towards the try-line, but it slipped from the winger's grasp and the chance was lost.

Seungsin Lee slotted a penalty to get some points on the board for Japan, before Hardy slithered over the line for Wales's second try.

Japan's Faulua Makisi was sent to the sin-bin for an offence in the build-up to the score.

Wales took advantage to score their third try, Adams slicing through the Japan defence before Hardy applied the finishing touch.

Japan hit back at just the right time, substitute Shuhei Takeuchi rumbling over for a try on the half-time hooter to give the hosts hope for the second half.

Edwards kicked a penalty 10 minutes into the second half but Japan hit back again with a try from Warner Dearns.

Japan scored again three minutes later when Dylan Riley picked off a Welsh pass and raced clear to touch down.

That reduced the deficit to two points but Edwards, winning his third cap, pulled Wales clear with five minutes remaining.

WALES LOOK TO FUTURE AFTER ENDING 18- GAME LOSING RUN

Interim head coach Matt Sherratt said Wales's 31-22 win over Japan on Saturday "has got to be the start of something" after ending their record 18-game losing streak.

The Welsh survived another second-half comeback from Eddie Jones's side in Kobe to pick up their first victory since the 2023 World Cup and consign their wretched run to history.

It was the longest losing streak for a Tier One country in the professional era.

Sherratt oversaw four of those defeats after replacing Warren Gatland on a temporary basis and he backed whoever gets the job permanently to build on the long-awaited win.

"Today is the end of a long season but for Welsh rugby it's got to be the start of something," said Sherratt.

"The next guy coming in, a big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck."

Emotional scenes greeted the final whistle under the stadium's closed roof, after the Welsh came close to blowing another halftime lead in the same manner as last week's 24-19 defeat in the first test.

A Josh Adams try and a Kieran Hardy double put Wales in control until Japan scored on the stroke of halftime and then added two more tries after the break.

That cut the lead to two points until fly-half Dan Edwards, making his first start for Wales, scored a 75th-minute try to kill off Japan's comeback.

"Around 65 (minutes), you almost felt the sense that things were going quite similarly to last week," said Wales captain Dewi Lake.

"So to score that try in the dying moments, it sinks in that you've got the job done, you've won the game and that ultimately was our goal coming out here."

'LONG TIME COMING'

Heat was again a factor with the temperature at 32 degrees Celsius at kick-off, but Wales started strongly and scored in the ninth minute when Blair Murray fed Adams to canter over the line.

Hardy slithered over for a second try, before Adams sliced through the Japan defence and teed up Hardy for a third.

Japan hit back at just the right time, with substitute Shuhei Takeuchi rumbling over for a try on the halftime hooter to give the hosts hope for the second half.

Scores from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley then shifted the momentum squarely in Japan's favour, before Edwards secured Wales their first win since beating Georgia in October 2023.

"It's been a long time coming," said Lake.

"I look back at the tough results we had over the past 18 months, a couple of one-pointers, a couple of two-pointers, probably in the driving seat last week and let it slip.

"So to dig in and get the job done today is an amazing feeling."

Lake said the trust the coaches had shown in the players had been "a massive help".

"The confidence that this will hopefully breed within this group will be huge for us going forward," he said.

The Welsh win denied Japan their first back-to-back victories over a Tier One nation.

Their win last week in Kitakyushu was their first over a Six Nations side since the 2019 World Cup on home soil, where they beat Ireland and Scotland.

"It's not the performance we wanted," said centre Riley.

"We showed some good stuff, some bad stuff but ultimately we couldn't finish this week.

"We'll have a bit of a break, reset, come back and back to work," he added.