Adams Double Rescues Wales in 28-21 Japan Win

Wales held their nerve at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, beating Japan 28-21 in a Nations Championship match that swung one way and then the other until the final seconds. Josh Adams scored two tries, including the winner with eleven minutes remaining, and then won the decisive turnover as Japan pressed for a converted try that would have snatched a draw. It was a bonus-point victory, Wales' second from four games in the competition, but the relief in Cardiff was obvious. Japan, brave and inventive for long stretches, left with a losing bonus point and the knowledge that they had come within one score of a famous win.

A flying start in Cardiff

Wales could hardly have started better. After only three minutes, prop Archie Griffin smashed over from close range, the move sparked by a brilliant run from Louis Rees-Zammit and finished after Japan were caught offside and Wales kicked to the corner. Griffin's try settled the home crowd, but Japan answered within seven minutes, Ben Gunter driving over after Wales left the ball exposed at the bottom of a ruck. Adams then crossed for the first of his two tries, only for Warner Dearns to reply for Japan, and the lead changed hands again before the break when Rees-Zammit finished beautifully on 37 minutes for his first Test try in a year. Wales led 21-14 at half-time, yet the scoreline flattered them: Nicky Smith had to win a turnover on his own line right on the interval as Japan threatened to draw level.

Japan refuse to go away

Japan controlled long stretches of the second half, carrying 82 times to Wales' 54 and enjoying 61 per cent of the ball after the break. Naoto Saito ran the game with real authority at scrum-half, and the visitors' quick ball put the Welsh defence under constant pressure around the ruck. Wales were forced to make 235 tackles, compared with 122 by Japan, and their lineout fell apart, losing seven throws while Japan won every one of their own. Yet for all their dominance, Japan could not land the decisive blow. Twice in the second half they were held up or turned over within five metres of the Welsh line, and too often they kicked the ball away at the end of promising attacks.

Adams settles it — twice

The match was decided in two moments, and Adams was at the heart of both. With eleven minutes to go, full-back Blair Murray broke from deep, scrum-half Tomos Williams delivered the final pass, and Adams went 80 metres for his second try, converted by replacement Dan Edwards after Sam Costelow had kicked the earlier conversions. Japan still refused to accept defeat. Replacement scrum-half Kenta Fukuda crossed on 75 minutes after replacement hooker Kenji Sato, standing on the wing, stepped Adams and offloaded, setting up a grandstand finish. With seconds left, Japan camped in the Welsh half needing a converted try for the draw, but Adams claimed the turnover from their last scrum and Wales could finally breathe.

What it means for Wales

For Wales, the win matters more than the performance. It was only their fourth victory in 13 Tests under head coach Steve Tandy, and their second in this Nations Championship after beating Fiji in July, following defeats by Argentina and South Africa. Captain Dewi Lake was blunt afterwards, saying the side were no longer accepting mediocrity and that this was the campaign to put their foot down. Coach Tandy agreed that vast improvement is needed, and he is right: the lineout was poor, the penalty count will concern him, and Wales let Japan straight back in after scoring on three occasions. Yet the back three were outstanding, with Rees-Zammit beating 14 defenders, Murray beating ten, and Williams throwing 64 passes with two try assists. Dafydd Jenkins made 25 tackles and Jac Morgan 24 as the tight five tackled themselves to a standstill.

Japan leave with pride and a point

For Japan, the pain will be real. A year ago they lost 24-23 in Cardiff to a kick after the hooter, and this was another narrow defeat in a stadium where head coach Eddie Jones is desperate to win. Jones called it a missed opportunity and said it could have been a historic win, and he has a case: his side dominated the set piece and the breakdown, missed fewer chances in open play, and were undone only in the final five metres. Fly-half Riku Kitahara made his Test debut, Japan were missing several regulars, and the Brave Blossoms still took a losing bonus point. They head to England next Saturday, while Wales face a far sterner test at home to New Zealand, eyeing a first win over the All Blacks since 1953. On this evidence, Wales will need to be far better than they were against Japan.