Tonight's rugby news as Wales hit humiliating new rankings low and World Cup disaster looms
The latest headlines from Wales and around the world
Blair Murray reacts after Wales' 24-19 defeat to Japan in Kitakyushu
(Image: Masterpress/Getty Images )
These are your evening rugby headlines on Saturday, July 5.
Wales hit humiliating new rankings low
Wales have hit a humiliating new low in the World Rugby rankings following their shock 24-19 defeat at the hands of Japan on Saturday. Matt Sherratt's side's dismal winless run was stretched to 18 games as a second-half implosion saw them throw away a 12-point lead, with Japan scoring two tries in the final 20 minutes after Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers crossed for Wales either side of a penalty try.
Not only does it mean Wales' long, long wait for a Test win - which stretches back to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France - goes on, it has also seen them slip to a record low of 14th in the world.
The last time Wales were on the Japanese island of Kyushu, they were ranked as the second best team in the world, having briefly occupied top spot earlier that year.
However, they have now hit an all-time low, with Japan and Samoa both moving ahead of them for the first time as Sherratt's side drop down two places from 12th.
The slip is a humiliating one but could lead to another potential disaster at next year's World Cup in Australia. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack for the exclusive five-week tour diary from Japan and Australia.
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The 2027 edition of rugby's showpiece tournament will see the competition expanded to 24 teams, with all of the qualified teams to be confirmed before the draw takes place later this year.
All the teams who qualify will be seeded based on their rankings at the end of the November internationals window, and with the next World Cup boasting six pools of four teams, the seeding bands are broken down by every six teams.
So, the top six teams in the world would be top seeds for the tournament, with those between 7th and 12th in the second banding of seeds and so on.
With Wales now slipping to 14th, they are currently in the third banding, which would likely see them drawn in a 'pool of death' at the 2027 World Cup with two of the world's top 12 teams among their opponents.
Wales have just five Test matches left to play before the draw is made, but it certainly won't be easy to turn things around with a rematch against the Brave Blossoms next week followed by November internationals against South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Japan for a third time.
Jones: Wales were tough to beat
Japan head coach Eddie Jones has heaped praise on his side for defeating a "really tough" Welsh side in Kitakyushu earlier today, after a second-half comeback saw them come from 12 points down to win 24-19.
The hosts were the poorer of two clearly nervous sides in the opening half, with Wales taking a solid 19-7 lead into half-time following tries from Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers, as well as a penalty try.
However, while Matt Sherratt's side fell apart in the second half, Japan looked like a side reborn heading into the final quarter, with tries from Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea helping them to snatch a win and inflict more heartbreak on the tourists.
While Wales are critically low on confidence following a winless run that now stretches to 18 Test matches, the win was no mean feat for Jones' side, which featured eight debutants.
"For a young team's perspective, that's a very good win," said the Brave Blossoms coach after the final whistle. "First half, we were getting beaten in territory and possession. We had a lot of nerves. We frequently gave the ball back early in the phase count.
"As a result, we were being beaten fair and square. But I sensed at half-time that the players knew what to do. With Mike's leadership in the second half, I thought they played a really good 40 minutes of rugby. Really tough.
"At times, we were able to break the Wales defence. Our set-piece was absolutely outstanding. I can't remember the last time I saw a front-row play 80 minutes in a Test match, especially in difficult conditions," Jones added.
"For the Wales team, for them to come from the northern hemisphere into those conditions is difficult. Like every Wales team, they were always tough to beat. They're a proud rugby nation and they produce tough, good players.
"We're really happy with the win. We'll enjoy the win tonight and get ready to go again in Kobe, where we'll need to play much better than today."
Townsend pleased by winning start
By PA Sport Staff
Gregor Townsend was pleased to see Scotland's summer tour 'start on a positive' after his side held on to claim a 29-26 win against Maori All Blacks in New Zealand.
Having got off to a shaky start when Sam Nock crossed for the hosts, Scotland were able to clinch victory in the non-cap international with tries from Harry Paterson, Arron Reed and two either side of the break from George Horne.
A late scare saw the Maori reduce Scotland's lead to three points with 10 minutes to play, but head coach Townsend was pleased to see his less experienced side prevail in Whangarei.
He said: 'The Maori are a quality side and I suppose we decided to put a team out tonight that wasn't as experienced knowing that it'll be a great development and learning experience for them.
'But we also wanted to win this game and we're so pleased that we did win the game and how we set that win up in the first half – how clinical we were. And then the pressure around set-piece and our defensive effort at the end saw us through. So, we're really pleased that the tour starts on a positive.
'The players who haven't played that much for Scotland and players that were coming back from injury were able to be part of a winning side tonight.'
Scotland led 24-12 at the break and Horne took advantage to bag his second try of the game in the 53rd minute when the hosts had two players shown yellow cards in quick succession.
However, the Maori suddenly closed the gap with converted tries from Kurt Eklund and Gideon Wrampling and Townsend hailed his side's ability to see the game out.
'The good thing is we found a way to win. I think it was probably beyond expectations knowing what the Maori did last week in Japan and how strong they've been against touring teams that we were so far ahead,' Townsend added.
'And we knew that they would come back and they got an opportunity and went through a number of phases, got back into the game and it looked like they had the momentum at the end.
'We needed a momentum shifting moment and Jamie Dobie and Fergus Burke, after real pressure in the line-out, got through and just the reaction of the team to get that ball back.
'We're delighted that in sport that could easily have ended up with them winning with the pressure they had on us in the 22, and it would have been a really disappointing and devastating to lose at the end having led for so long, so we're so glad we saw it through.'
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Scotland's tour continues with a clash against Fiji on July 12 before concluding with a game against Samoa the following week.
Townsend confirmed that Ben Muncaster will be monitored ahead of the Fiji meeting after picking up a dead leg, while Gregor Brown will enter concussion protocol.
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