On a November evening in Cardiff, before a crowd of more than fifty thousand, Wales held off Japan by a single score and collected a bonus point that will read well on a table but felt thin to the people who played it. Captain Dewi Lake and coach Steve Tandy looked past the scoreboard to the gaps in their play, and the lesson they drew was less about winning than about the trust a team builds when it finishes what it starts. For Japan, the same night carried a quieter ache, a historic first win in Cardiff left just out of reach. The harder road now opens, with New Zealand and Australia waiting
Wales Win Ugly Over Japan as Lake Admits 'We Let Ourselves Down'
A win, but one the captain said let the group down
Mark
Wales won with a bonus point. Why are the captain and coach so unhappy?
Mimi
Because they know what's coming. Lake said the things that went wrong against Japan wouldn't be good enough against New Zealand or Australia, and those are the next two games.
Luke
Worth noting that's their own assessment. The report doesn't give us stats on how Wales fell short, only Lake's and Tandy's words.
Mark
Tandy said they weren't ruthless enough. What does that mean here?
Mimi
He said the line breaks and the way they opened Japan up were good, but they didn't finish the job. Japan hung around, and it finished 28-21.
Luke
Fair, though it's a judgment, not a measured figure. Nothing in the report quantifies missed chances for Wales.
Mark
And Jones? He's pointing at the 22.
Mimi
Yes. He says Japan had three opportunities and Wales took theirs, so Wales had the better points per entry.
Luke
That's his claim, and he's the losing coach. The report doesn't verify it. The same goes for his complaint about the breakdown penalty, which he half-retracted himself.
Mark
What about the bigger picture for Wales?
Mimi
Four wins in Tandy's 13 Tests, two of them over Japan, after a record 18 straight defeats. So Lake saying a win is massive for confidence is understandable.
Luke
Right, but it's also a thin base. Whether this team can hold up against New Zealand next Saturday is simply unknown.
Le Pouls
- Wales beat Japan 28-21 in Cardiff, but captain Dewi Lake admitted large stretches of the game let the side down.
- Coach Steve Tandy refused to hide behind the bonus point, calling out a lack of ruthlessness in front of 52,425 fans.
- Japan's Eddie Jones saw a historic first Cardiff win slip away, blaming missed chances inside the 22 and questioning a penalty call at the breakdown.
- Wales now turn to New Zealand next Saturday and Australia on 21 November, with fixes needed fast before the hardest tests arrive.
On a November evening in Cardiff, before a crowd of more than fifty thousand, Wales held off Japan by a single score and collected a bonus point that will read well on a table but felt thin to the people who played it. Captain Dewi Lake and coach Steve Tandy looked past the scoreboard to the gaps in their play, and the lesson they drew was less about winning than about the trust a team builds when it finishes what it starts. For Japan, the same night carried a quieter ache, a historic first win in Cardiff left just out of reach. The harder road now opens, with New Zealand and Australia waiting, and the real measure of this Welsh side will be what it does with the honesty it has already shown.
A crowd of 52,425 watched Wales hold off Japan 28-21 in Cardiff, and by the final whistle the home captain was more troubled by what had gone wrong than pleased with the result. Dewi Lake said there were massive parts of the game where Wales let themselves down, and that the squad had promised in camp to do things they did not do.
The win came with a bonus point, with Archie Griffin, Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams among the try scorers. It was Wales' second win from four Nations Championship games, but the numbers remain modest. It was only the fourth win in Steve Tandy's 13 Tests in charge, and Lake would not play it down after a record run of 18 straight defeats. Still, he said, winning builds the confidence and trust players need in one another.
Tandy was just as direct. He welcomed the bonus point but could not hide from the performance, crediting the line breaks while admitting Wales were not ruthless enough. The schedule now hardens, with New Zealand visiting Cardiff next Saturday and Australia following on 21 November. Lake warned that what Wales showed against Japan would not be good enough against those sides.
For Japan, Eddie Jones saw a chance slip away. A first Cardiff win would have been historic, but his young side failed to convert three attacking chances in the opposition 22, and he wished they had been more clinical. He also questioned a penalty against his side at the breakdown, laughing that perhaps he was complaining after all.
A crowd of 52,425 watched Wales hold off Japan 28-21 in Cardiff, and by the end the home captain was more interested in what had gone wrong than in the result. Dewi Lake said there were massive parts of the game where Wales let themselves down, and that the group had arrived in camp promising to do things they then did not do against Japan.
The win came with a bonus point. Prop Archie Griffin and wing Louis Rees-Zammit each scored a try, and Josh Adams added two. It was Wales' second victory from four games in the Nations Championship, and they remain fifth in the northern hemisphere table.
The numbers behind it are modest. This was only the fourth win in head coach Steve Tandy's 13 Tests in charge, and two of those four have come against Japan. Lake still would not play the result down, pointing to the recent losing runs Wales have endured, including a record 18 consecutive Test defeats. A win, he said, matters for the confidence and trust the players build in each other, and he said he was proud of the squad because Wales have not done it often enough.
Tandy was equally direct. He welcomed starting the campaign with a bonus point but said he could not run away from the performance. He had expected his side to be better in some areas. He credited the line breaks and the way Wales opened Japan up, but said they were not ruthless enough. He added that it helps to review a game after a win rather than a loss.
That matters because the schedule now hardens. New Zealand, fresh from beating Scotland, visit Cardiff next Saturday, and Australia follow at the Principality Stadium on 21 November. Lake said the flaws shown against Japan would not be good enough to compete in those two Tests, and that Wales will have to get a lot right and fix some things in the coming week.
On the other side, Japan head coach Eddie Jones saw a chance slip away. A first win in Cardiff would have been historic, he said, but his side were not good enough to take advantage of the mistakes Wales made. He was proud of his young team but felt they needed to be more clinical. In his view, the difference came in the opposition 22: Japan had three opportunities and did not take their chances, while Wales did, so their points per entry was higher.
Jones also questioned New Zealand referee Paul Williams' interpretation at the contact area. He singled out one penalty against Japan for not supporting their own weight at the breakdown, and asked whether anyone watching could think there was just one ruck where the supporting player was off his feet. He said he was not complaining, only noting that sometimes you do not get the rub of the green, before adding with a laugh that maybe he was complaining.
Japan's next fixture is against Jones' former side, England, at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, next Saturday. Wales, meanwhile, face the All Blacks on the same day with a win in hand and, by their own admission, a lot to correct.
Citations marquantes
There were massive parts of that game where we let ourselves down.— Dewi Lake, Wales captain
That could have been a historic win for us but you've got to be good enough to take advantage of those mistakes.— Eddie Jones, Japan head coach
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