Faletau out as Edwards given first Wales start

Yahoo

10-07-2025

Number eight Taulupe Faletau (left) has played 109 internationals while fly-half Dan Edwards has two caps [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
Summer tour second Test: Japan v Wales
Venue: Noevir (Misaki Park) Stadium, Kobe Date: Saturday, 12 July Kick-off: 06:50 BST
Coverage: Watch live on S4C and BBC iPlayer; listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru & BBC Sounds; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app.
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Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau has been ruled out of the second Test against Japan in Kobe as fly-half Dan Edwards is given his first international start.
Faletau, 34, came off during the second half of the 24-19 defeat in Kitakyushu after suffering "heat-related cramps" in the intense conditions and has not recovered.
He will be replaced by Aaron Wainwright as one of four changes made by interim head coach Matt Sherratt, who said he wanted to "freshen things up a bit".
Edwards comes in for Sam Costelow, while prop Archie Griffin starts with Keiron Assiratti dropping out of the squad.
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Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas replaces Ben Carter who has been ruled out because of concussion.
Ospreys duo Reuben Morgan-Williams and Keelan Giles, and Dragons prop Chris Coleman, could make their international debuts from the replacements bench.
Missing Faletau
Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau has been on three British and Irish Lions tours [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
Faletau's absence is a major blow as he is Wales' most experienced player and was the tourists' most impressive performer in the first game against Japan.
He left the field after 56 minutes in Kitakyushu in noticeable discomfort with the intense heat and humidity troubling the visitors, although Sherratt confirmed after the match Faletau's withdrawal had been tactical.
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Wales had said they would allow Faletau time to recover before deciding on their line-up, after the Cardiff number eight did not train with the Wales squad on Tuesday.
"Toby [Taulupe] had a little bit of heat stress-related cramping [following the game]," said Sherratt.
"We decided it was best Aaron Wainwright starts at No 8."
Scarlets back row Taine Plumtree comes onto the bench alongside Ospreys forward James Ratti, who played 79 minutes in Kitakyushu after coming on for Carter.
Lock Thomas will make his second Wales start when he packs down alongside Teddy Williams.
Assiratti has not been able to train much this week so his exit from the squad allows Bath tight-head Griffin to move up from the bench, while Coleman will get his first taste of international rugby if he comes on the field.
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Cardiff captain Liam Belcher retains his spot in the squad after the hooker won his first cap in Kitakyushu when he replaced captain Dewi Lake.
Dan is the man
Dan Edwards is a former Wales Under-20s fly-half [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
Ospreys fly-half Edwards made two replacement appearances against France and Italy under former head coach Warren Gatland during the 2025 Six Nations with Cardiff centre Ben Thomas starting at 10 in Paris and Rome.
Wales interim boss Sherratt has used fly-halves Costelow, Gareth Anscombe and Jarrod Evans during his four games in charge but now selects Edwards for the first time.
"Dan's trained brilliantly over the three weeks," said Sherratt,
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"He was great in the Six Nations so we want to have a look at him."
Edwards, 22, will have a familiar face when he links up with his club half-back partner Kieran Hardy, while another Ospreys scrum-half Reuben Morgan-Williams will hope to claim his first cap from the bench.
Morgan-Williams' inclusion means Rhodri Williams drops out of the squad, after the Dragons scrum-half was an unused replacement last weekend with Hardy playing the full 80 minutes.
The rest of the starting backline remains the same with wing Giles drafted in for Scarlets centre Joe Roberts on the bench, as one of only two back replacements.
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Giles, 27, could end a nine-year wait for an elusive first cap which started when he was selected as a 18-year-old for the tour to New Zealand in 2016.
He was an unused replacement in the narrow victory against Japan in November 2016 and was also not capped after being included for the trip to play Samoa and Tonga the following summer.
Following significant knee issues and a hamstring problem, Giles was picked for the summer tour of Australia in 2024 but had to pull out because of injury.
The touring Wales players who have not been involved in a match-day squad are uncapped duo Macs Page and Garyn Phillips, Cardiff full-back Cameron Winnett and Dragons hooker Elliot Dee.
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Trying to halt the losing streak
Wales will finish a dismal season looking to avoid becoming the first tier one rugby nation in history to suffer 19 successive international defeats.
They have not won a Test match in 21 months since defeating Georgia in Nantes during the World Cup in October 2023.
Wales' first match defeat to Japan means they dropped to an all-time world ranking low of 14th.
Eddie Jones' Japan side are bidding to wrap up a first series victory against Wales and make history by winning consecutive matches against tier one opposition for the first time.
Jones has made five changes to the starting side including the selection of Toulouse scrum-half Naito Saito who was unavailable for the first game having just been part of the Top14 winning side.
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Kubota prop Keijiro Tamefusa, number eight Faulua Makisi, wing Halatoa Vailea and full-back Ichigo Nakakusu are also named, while Australian-born back Sam Greene could make his debut from the bench.
How they line up
Japan: Ichigo Nakakusu; Kippei Ishida, Dylan Riley, Shogo Nakano, Halatoa Vailea; Seungsin Lee, Naito Sato; Yota Kamimori, Mamoru Harada, Keijiro Tamefusa, Epineri Uluiviti, Warner Deans, Michael Leitch (capt), Jack Cornelsen, Faulua Makisi.
Replacements: Hayate Era, Sena Kimura, Shuhei Takeuchi, Waisake Raratubua, Ben Gunter, Shinobu Fujiwara, Sam Greene, Kazema Ueda.
Wales: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Johnny Williams, Ben Thomas, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake (capt), Archie Griffin, Freddie Thomas, Teddy Williams, Alex Mann, Josh Macleod, Aaron Wainwright.
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Replacements: Liam Belcher, Gareth Thomas, Chris Coleman, James Ratti, Taine Plumtree, Tommy Reffell, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Keelan Giles.
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Damian Schneider (UAR)
Television Match Official (TMO): Glenn Newman (NZR).