Japan 18-22 Wales

Obviously I was supporting Wales in their early-morning tour match in Osaka against Japan. But quite a big part of me wanted to see the hosts do as well as possible.

The main problem with international rugby is the fact there have only ever been nine decent international sides. Really, it’s vital nations such as Japan improve (particularly critical in their case, considering they’re hosting the World Cup in six years) and other countries start to challenge for a place in the tournament. Only 25 teams have ever featured in the seven World Cups which have taken place.

Obviously with most of the Welsh team away with the Lions, touring somewhere like Japan makes sense. But it was good to see both that the teams were evenly matched and that the grandstands at the Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium were pretty packed.

The Brave Blossoms scored a well-worked try at the end of the first half to earn a deserved 11-6 lead at the break and showed deft hands to pull it back to 19-18 in the last 10 minutes. It meant they outscored Wales by two tries to one.

And although Wales got a grip as Japan faded around the hour mark, and yes, it was only a much-weakened Welsh side in the first place, it was an encouraging performance from the team beaten by 128 points by New Zealand in 1995.

It’s also worth mentioning Japan’s excellent scrum half Fumiaki Tanaka. I’ve seen him in action (on TV) a few times for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, and it’s brilliant to see individual talents emerging in the lower tiers of World Rugby, like the USA’s Samu Manoa.

New Zealand visit Japan next, and you do fear that one could turn into a bit of a hiding.

Talking of the All Blacks on this topic, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth that they followed the Yen but refused to travel to Fiji to play a centenary game there. It’s particularly a shame considering how well NZ has done by “pinching” Fijian players in recent years.