Rees-Zammit inspires Wales to nervy win over Eddie Jones's Japan

MATCH REPORT: A man of the match performance by Louis Rees-Zammit, and two tries by Josh Adams helped Wales secure a nervy 28-21 victory over Japan at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

The hosts, who were pushed to their limits for the full 80 minutes, survived a late second-half surge by the Brave Blossoms.

In a clash devoid of quality and scoring opportunities, Steve Tandy’s troops did enough in the first half to bag just their second win in the Nations Championship.

They got off to a cracking start, opening the scoring with just four minutes played.

A 30 metre break by winger Louis Rees-Zammit resulted in a penalty advantage for the Welsh, and when play fizzled out, they opted to go for touch.

Hooker and captain, Dewi Lake found his jumper, but the rolling maul was stopped in its tracks. That mattered little, though, and three phases later, Archie Griffin barged over to open his side’s tally with Sam Costelow converting the extra two points.

Japan were dealt a massive blow soon after that when flyer Inoke Burua left the field with an injury and was replaced by Jisu Lee.

After a period of sustained pressure, Eddie Jones’s side settled into the game and responded emphatically when a turnover inside Wales’s 22 saw Ben Gunter run over untouched on the wing.

Wales looked unfazed by that score and continued to dominate the aerial battle and territory, forcing Japan into mistakes although they couldn’t turn their dominance into points.

When they had possession, Japan slowed the game down, and a light break by hooker Mamoru Harada in the 23rd minute almost ended in a scoring opportunity.

On the other end of the field, Wales were finally rewarded for their dominance. A free play inside their half allowed their backs to spread the ball wide, and Louis Rees-Zammit offloaded to Josh Adams, who crashed over for his side’s second score.

Japan hit back almost immediately, getting themselves inside Wales’s 22-metre line for only the second time. They were patient in their build-up, and the forwards were gaining metres with their carries.

Skipper Warner Dearns eventually dotted over from close range, scoring his 14th international try.

With the scores level and time running out, the hosts went on one last attack, aiming to finish the half strong.

They did just that, and Rees-Zammit was at the end of a beautifully worked team try. Japan had a chance to pull one back with time up, but Wales’s defence held firm and they led 21-14 at the break.

Both sides had a slow start to the second half, but Japan enjoyed early success, putting together a string of phases before reverting to the kicking game.

Wales, meanwhile, struggled at set piece time with their lineout malfunctioning and skipper Lake missing his jumper in an attacking area before he was substituted by Ryan Elias.

Wales started to click, and a line break by Jac Morgan, who linked up with Adams, almost ended in a try for Rees-Zammit, but he failed to gather a crosskick.

Japan had a massive opportunity just after the hour mark when a passage of play almost ended in points, but they were penalised for an infringement at the breakdown.

It turned into a scrappy affair, but it suited Japan’s style of play, who looked threatening with the ball in hand.

However, they gifted Wales another score when a box kick by scrumhalf, Naoto Saito, wasn’t followed up by a good kick chase.

Wales fullback Blair Murray spotted space and found Tomos Williams, who handed it to Adams, and he finished in the corner.

Japan then made it a nervy finish when replacement Kenta Fukuda scored in the last five minutes.

Wales, however, held on for the nervy win and will move on to face the All Blacks and Argentina, respectively.

Player of the match: Wales had a number of players who put their hands up, but Louis Rees-Zammit was the standout. The explosive winger had an influence on the game and scored one of his side’s tries in the first half. Josh Adams also impressed alongside Aaron Wainwright.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries: Griffin, Adams 2, Rees-Zammit
Cons: Costelow 3, Edwards

For Japan:
Tries: Gunter, Dearns, Fukuda
Cons:  Saito 2, Komura

Teams:

Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Eddie James, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 James Botham, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Louie Hennessey

Japan: 15 Kazuma Ueda, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Samisoni Tua, 11 Inoke Burua, 10 Riku Kitahara, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Jack Cornelsen, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Warner Dearns (captain), 4 Harry Hockings, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Yota Kamimori.
Replacements: 16 Kenji Sato, 17 Sojiro Otsuka, 18 Opeti Helu, 19 Michael Stolberg, 20 Tiennan Costley, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Shinya Komura, 23 Jisu Lee.

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England) & Angus Mabey (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)