Wales secure bonus-point victory over Japan at Principality Stadium on 7 November 2026
Wales beat Japan in the Nations Championship at the Principality Stadium on 7 November 2026, claiming a bonus-point win in an unconvincing performance. Louis Rees-Zammit scored his 17th try in 44 internationals and was prominent in the victory.
The result resumed Wales' Nations Championship campaign, giving Steve Tandy his fourth win in 13 internationals and leaving Wales fifth in the northern hemisphere table after their return to the inaugural competition. Wales began the tournament in July with a home win over Fiji and defeats in Argentina and South Africa; Japan had beaten Italy but lost to Ireland and France. The match was attended by 52,425 supporters, 2,000 more than Wales' opening match against Argentina last November and 9,000 fewer than the Cardiff meeting with Japan in 2025.
Wales took a 21-14 lead into half-time through first-half tries from prop Archie Griffin, wing Josh Adams and Rees-Zammit, with Japan responding through flanker Ben Gunter and lock Warner Dearns. Sam Costelow converted Griffin's try and Costelow's kicking supplied points for Wales during the match. Rees-Zammit had returned to his preferred wing role after deputising at full-back and finished an early move for his first try in eight internationals.
Careless play at breakdowns and handling errors repeatedly allowed Japan to remain in contention, with Tomos Williams caught for a turnover that led to Gunter's score and Ben Carter penalised for a neck roll. Tandy named a sixth different centre combination in his 13th international by starting Eddie James and Max Llewellyn together; James made several significant breaks but Wales still accumulated a fifth handling error inside the opening 15 minutes. Line-out problems also disrupted Wales' attacking platform, with the home side losing six line-outs during the match.
The second half produced another Adams try to extend Wales' lead, though an early chance was squandered when Costelow kicked possession away with Blair Murray and Rees-Zammit outside him. Nicky Smith produced a crucial turnover on his own line and hooker Lake earned a turnover penalty before being replaced as the front row shuffled. A counter-attack from Murray, fed to scrum-half Tomos Williams and finished by Adams, secured the bonus-point try for Wales, while Japan replacement Kenta Fukuda later crossed to earn his side a losing bonus point.
Individual performances underpinned the result: Rees-Zammit was described as player-of-the-match and Wales were helped by strong ball-carrying from full-back Blair Murray, back-row pair Morgan and Wainwright and centre Eddie James. Tandy will be concerned by the malfunctioning line-out, the way Japan were allowed back into the game, persistent indiscipline and wasted attacking opportunities caused by handling errors.
Wales' matchday XV was: Murray; Rees-Zammit, James, Llewellyn, Adams; Costelow, Tomos Williams; Smith, Lake (capt), Griffin, Jenkins, Carter, Mann, Morgan, Wainwright. Replacements: Elias, Carre, Francis, Teddy Williams, Botham, Morgan-Williams, D Edwards, Hennessey. Japan's starting XV was: Ueda; Ishida, Riley, Tua, Burua; Kitahara, Saito (co-capt); Kamimori, Harada, Takeuchi, Hockings, Dearns (co-capt), Gunter, Shimokawa, Cornelsen. Replacements: Sato, Otsuka, Helu, Stolberg, Costley, Fukuda, Komura, Lee. Match officials were referee Paul Williams (New Zealand), assistant referees Christophe Ridley (England) and Angus Mabey (New Zealand) and TMO Glenn Newman (New Zealand).
Wales will host New Zealand next Saturday and finish their regular league programme against Australia, while Japan travel to face England and Scotland; Allianz Stadium in Twickenham is scheduled to host a three-day finals weekend at the end of November and, if the tables remain unchanged, Wales would meet Japan again in south-west London to decide fifth place.