Japan to take on Wales in 'Battle of the Bad' two-test rugby series
By Fred Varcoe
Japan will face Wales in two rugby union test matches this month in a series that could be called the 'Battle of the Bad,' with both teams suffering poor results in the last couple of years.
Wales have lost an incredible 17 straight test matches – a record for a top-level national team – and they dumped coach Warren Gatland in February after they were beaten 22-15 in the Six Nations by Italy. Adam Sherratt is in temporary charge. Wales showed some spirit in his first two games at the helm, losing 27-18 to Ireland and 35-29 to Scotland, but were humiliated 68-14 at home when they faced England.
Gatland was meant to bring some glory back to a country where rugby is the national sport. In his first stint in charge, Wales won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations Championship in 2019 and reached the semifinals of the World Cup in Japan, narrowly losing out to eventual champions South Africa 19-16.
That World Cup marked the end of Gatland's first spell in charge and under Wayne Pivac, the team still managed to clinch the Six Nations title in 2021. They were knocked out of the quarterfinals at the 2023 World Cup by Argentina and have won only one game since, a 49-26 victory against the Barbarians. This year started off with one of the most humiliating results of all, a 43-0 loss against France.
Wales have slumped to No. 12 in the World Rankings – one spot above Japan – six years after they were ranked the No. 1 team in the world. They will come to Japan knowing they have won 13 of the 14 matchups between the two countries, with Japan's sole win coming in 2013, a 23-8 victory in Tokyo.
Then, as now, the coach of the Japanese team was Eddie Jones, who was guiding Japan to World Cup glory in 2015 when he led the team to what has often been termed 'the biggest upset in rugby union history.' The dramatic 34-32 victory over South Africa stunned the rugby world, but, more importantly, it set the team on a path of upward development and gave rugby a massive boost in Japan.
Japan hosted a glorious World Cup in 2019 and the home team, under the guidance of Jamie Joseph, won all four of their group games, scoring spectacular wins over Ireland (19-12) and Scotland (28-21), and becoming the first Asian team to reach the quarterfinals. Like Wales at the same tournament, they lost to eventual winners South Africa. The important thing for Japanese rugby after that wonderful World Cup was to keep the momentum going, but that doesn't seem to have happened.
Jones was brought back to Japan a year and a half ago to try and recreate his previous 'miracle,' but results haven't gone well, with the team losing seven of their last 11 games. The latest setback was a 53-20 loss to the Maori All Blacks at the end of June. Jones termed it a 'big loss' but said it gave his young team 'a lot of good lessons.'
Jones has never hidden his dislike for the rugby setup in Japan, with a massive disconnect between the universities and club teams (formerly company teams), and the need to provide top-class rugby and opposition to groom his players to a higher level. "For a lot of these guys, it's their first game above League One, so it's a much higher level of game," he said after June's loss.
After his reappointment in January last year, Jones told Kyodo News: 'My job is to win, 100 percent, but I came back to Japan because I want to build a base for Japan going forward. The next three years is about creating a team that can beat a top-10 team in the world.'
Japan's tests against Wales will be their first matches this year and the squad includes 16 uncapped players. Wales, too, will come with a somewhat depleted squad, but both sides will be desperate for a win.
'It's massive,' Welsh hooker Dewi Lake said. 'They're a dangerous side and caused a lot of upsets in recent memory. We're by no means underestimating the edge they're going to bring. We know they play with very quick ball. It's our job to slow it down as they'll want to play with speed.'
A pair of wins for either team will give them a shot in the arm. Whether or not that will lead to the hoped-for revival of their fortunes remains to be seen. Both teams have a lot riding on the series.
Japan-Wales, July 5, 14:00, Mikuni World Stadium, Kitakyushu
Japan-Wales, July 12, 14:50, Noevir Stadium, Kobe
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