Japan player ratings vs Wales | Nations Championship 2026

Japan player ratings:  Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms came to Cardiff with an eye on claiming a not inconsiderable Nations Championship scalp on the road, with Wales still very much in the rebuilding stage. Japan had barely got off the bus before conceding, with Wales crossing after just four minutes, but they gradually found a foothold in the contest thanks largely to the abrasive Ben Gunter.

Japan were guilty throughout of shovelling the ball wide without first earning the right to go there, rarely making meaningful gains through the middle or seriously troubling the Welsh defensive line. Their tackling, meanwhile, was simply too poor for this level, a familiar blight on this side. The fact this ended as a one-try game at 28-21 was both a credit to Japan’s persistence and, arguably, a slight indictment of Wales.

1. Yota Kamimori – 5.5
The 172cm, 105kg Kubota Spears loosehead held up better against Archie Griffin better than the Takekuchi across the scrum from him on the tighthead side did against Nicky Smith. Not blameless, though, and gave away a couple of costly penalties. Competed gamely but spent too much of the evening retreating rather than advancing.

2. Mamoru Harada – 6.5
Unable to stop Griffin from crashing over for Wales’ opening try after four minutes. Hit back with one of Japan’s best moments of the first half, a lovely route-one burst for around 15 metres before linking with support. Also missed a tackle on Louis Rees-Zammit later in the half. A mixed but busy outing from the hooker.

3. Shuhei Takeuchi – 5
Had a rough evening against Nicky Smith. The 120kg Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath prop came under pressure at scrum time for long spells and Wales looked to target him. One or two better moments later on but overall second best in the front-row battle.

4. Harry Hockings – 8
The 6ft 10in lock was out to prove he’s more than just height for hire and largely succeeded. Carried willingly, even if he got sent backwards a couple of times, pinched lineout ball, produced a superb turnover on 58 minutes and emptied the tank. Him and Dearns genuinely disrupted Wales’ lineout too.

5. Warner Dearns  – 8
Japan’s best forward. A constant lineout option, charged down a Welsh kick on 29 minutes and bulldozed over shortly afterwards following a series of close-range pick-and-goes. Also dovetailed nicely with Hockings and even showed soft hands in midfield. Led by example throughout.

6. Ben Gunter – 8
Japan’s standout carrier and the man who kept them alive. Produced a huge jackal after Saito’s charged-down box kick threatened disaster, then finished brilliantly from 20 metres after a turnover opportunity. Powerful in contact all evening. Like almost everyone else he fell off a couple of tackles, but his positives massively outweighed the negatives.

7. Kanji Shimokawa – 5
One of those nights where the effort was obvious but the execution wasn’t. Stripped of possession on 17 minutes and looked vulnerable defensively. Plenty of endeavour but just a little too messy, which summed up large chunks of Japan’s game.

8. Jack Cornelsen – 6.5
A lot of honest graft from the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights No.8 without necessarily having a huge bearing on proceedings. Won a useful lineout on 46 minutes and worked hard around the park. His biggest moment came when he was penalised for holding on a metre from the Welsh line. A costly miss.

9. Naoto Saito  – 7
Both excellent and scattergun, often in the space of a few minutes. Saw an early box kick charged down despite Japan using a caterpillar ruck but was rescued by Gunter. Produced a classy clearance kick and some sharp game management at times. Defensively, though, his tackling was bordering on bin juice level, and Eddie James absolutely flattened him for Rees-Zammit’s score.

10. Riku Kitahara – 7
A memorable debut for the former Honda Heat playmaker. Showed some really nice touches early, defended well to stop Aaron Wainwright when a try looked likely and generally didn’t look overawed. A solid first cap and one Japan can build from.

11. Inoke Burua – N/A
The Kobe Steelers wing hobbled off after only eight minutes, leaving little opportunity to make an impression.

Fixture

Nations Championship

Wales

28 - 21

Full-time

Japan

All Stats and Data

12. Samisoni Tua – 7
At his best he looked Japan’s most effective back. Produced a huge carry on exit late in the first half and repeatedly got over the gainline. The issue was defence. Missed a tackle in the build-up to Josh Adams’ score and was stepped inside by Rees-Zammit for another. Excellent in attack, porous at times without the ball.

13. Dylan Riley – 6.5
Certainly tried to inject some punch. Had a handful of moments but never quite found a way through the Welsh defence as Japan’s attack increasingly descended into brainrot phases of lateral passing.

14. Kippei Ishida – 5
Started with a knock-on and then missed a one-on-one tackle almost immediately. To his credit he kept looking for work and made metres whenever space appeared. The problem was his defence. You have to admire the volume of tackles he attempts, but missing roughly one in every three at Test level is simply not acceptable.

15. Kazuma Ueda – 8.5
Japan’s best attacking weapon. The former sevens star consistently asked questions of the Welsh defence, split them open on 46 minutes and beat an astonishing eight defenders. Added a respectable kicking game and was one of the few visitors capable of creating genuine uncertainty whenever he touched the ball.

Replacements – 7
A mixed bag. Jisu Lee had some difficult moments, including being stripped in possession and contributing some toilet-paper defending on Rees-Zammit’s try. The impressive Kenji Sato, Sojiro Otsuka, Michael Stolberg, Tiennan Costley and Shinya Komura worked hard enough. Opeti Helu was also excellent when he came on and was a big part of setting up Kenta Fukuda late try that made it a nervous end for Wales.