Jarrod Evans spares Wales more embarassment with late winner over Japan

Wales ended a record run of 10 successive home Test defeats and gave new head coach Steve Tandy his first win by claiming a dramatic 24-23 victory over Japan in Cardiff.

The win, secured by a Jarrod Evans penalty with the game’s final kick, secured a top-12 seeding – and Wales avoiding two heavyweight nations in their group – when the 2027 Rugby World Cup pool draw is made on December 3.

Wales had not won a Test on home soil since defeating World Cup warm-up opponents England in August 2023, and Japan went agonisingly close to extending that sorry sequence.

But Tandy’s team overcame a 20-minute red card for wing Josh Adams just before the interval as fly-half Dan Edwards, wing Louis Rees-Zammit and centre Nick Tompkins scored tries, all converted by Edwards, before Evans stepped up off the bench to break Japanese hearts.

Wing Kippei Ishida and number eight Faulua Makisi claimed Japan’s touchdowns, yet it was fly-half Seungsin Lee’s 13-point haul – three penalties and two conversions – that threatened to make a significant difference.

Fixture

Internationals

Wales

24 - 23

Full-time

Japan

All Stats and Data

Rees-Zammit’s score came on his first Wales start since returning to rugby following a stint in American football, and he was a consistent attacking threat amid the frequent gloom of another sub-standard team display.

It was only Wales’ second win in the last 21 Tests, and they remain miles off the pace ahead of welcoming New Zealand and world champions to South Africa in the next fortnight.

Eddie Jones’ Japan scented their biggest triumph since they stunned South Africa during the 2015 World Cup in Brighton, yet they were ultimately denied as Evans held his nerve.

Wales were off and running after just six minutes courtesy of Edwards’ impressive finish that saw him beat three players inside Japan’s 22, before converting his try.

Japan missed a chance to cut the deficit when Makisi spilled possession barely five metres from Wales’ line, yet it proved only a temporary reprieve for the home side.

They struck from their next opportunity as a flowing move ended with Ishida crossing wide out and Lee adding the extras, and Wales continued to be tested defensively by Japan’s razor-sharp attack.

Lock Epineri Uluiviti was then yellow-carded for a challenge on Wales flanker Alex Mann, which briefly disrupted Japan’s momentum, and it got worse four minutes later as Makisi’s high hit on Edwards saw referee Matthew Carley brandish another yellow.

It left Japan temporarily reduced to 13 players, but Wales could not make their advantage count and they had wing Josh Adams sin-binned when he made contact with Ishida’s head as a forgettable first half ended 7-7.

Wales badly needed an injection of creativity and pace, yet with Adams’ card upgraded to red, they had to play the entire third quarter underpowered in terms of numbers.

Rees-Zammit lifted spirits when he collected scrum-half Tomos Williams’ long pass for his 15th Wales try, with Edwards’ conversion making it 14-12 after Lee had kicked a penalty.

But back came Japan following another Lee penalty as Makisi crashed over, and Lee’s conversion left Wales in deep trouble again, trailing by six points.

They required an immediate response, and Tompkins delivered it by touching down barely a minute after going on. Edwards’ conversion put Wales back in front, only for a third Lee penalty to restore an advantage for Japan.

The visitors looked comfortably more threatening than Wales with ball in hand, and there was also an impressive degree of composure as the clock ticked down.

Wales grew increasingly desperate amid a frantic finale, and Evans became the hero after a third Japan yellow card – this time for replacement Harry Hockings – by booting a last-gasp penalty.