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Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matt Sherratt wants Wales' win against Japan ‘to be the start of something'
Matt Sherratt hopes Wales' 31-22 victory over Japan can 'be the start of something' after they snapped an 18-match losing Test run. A hard-fought performance saw Kieran Hardy score two tries along with efforts from Josh Adams and Dan Edwards as Wales held off a second-half Japan comeback to clinch the win at the Noevir Stadium. Advertisement It earned Wales their first Test win since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup. Sherratt took over as interim head coach following the departure of Warren Gatland during the Six Nations Championship in February and he hopes Saturday's win can help his successor start with a clean slate. 'A very passionate group of players and staff. There's some real talent as well,' Sherratt told a post-match press conference. 'Today is the end of a long season, but for Welsh rugby it's got to be the start of something. 'The next guy coming in – the big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck. Advertisement 'That was a big motivation for me coming in. The work's got to be done now with the national coaches in the regions, lets get into the regions and help develop a good young group of players.' Sherratt had overseen four of those 18 defeats coming into Saturday's contest and expressed his delight for Wales' players and staff to finally earn a win as emotions ran high at full-time. He added: 'For me, it's about the people. As I said before, I've genuinely never wanted to win a game of rugby so much. 'I'm not around it being win or loss. I'm more around I know what the group has put in – I've been around for four games, but I see what it means to them, what it means to the staff. Advertisement 'I was so pleased for this group, there's not been a more deserving group that I've worked with, so it was pretty emotional. 'I had to get Gethin Jenkins to give me a slap around the face to get in check because as you'd seen, I could have easily embarrassed myself on TV.' Wales took a 21-10 lead into half-time thanks to efforts from Adams and Hardy, before Shuhei Takeuchi scored before the break. Dewi Lake admitted he was 'over the moon' (Joe Giddens/PA) Edwards' penalty extended the visitors' advantage, but they suddenly found themselves in trouble when converted tries from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley closed the gap to two points. However, Wales were able to see the game out after a brilliant piece of individual skill from Taine Plumtree saw him fire a reverse pass into Edwards and the fly-half dived over the line to wrap up the win. Advertisement Reflecting on the game, skipper Dewi Lake added: 'I'm over the moon, it's been a long time coming. 'I look back at tough results we've had over the last 18 months, couple of one-pointers, couple of two-pointers. We were probably in the driving seat last week and let it slip. 'To dig in and get the job done today is an amazing feeling.'
The Independent
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Matt Sherratt wants Wales' win against Japan ‘to be the start of something'
Matt Sherratt hopes Wales' 31-22 victory over Japan can 'be the start of something' after they snapped an 18-match losing Test run. A hard-fought performance saw Kieran Hardy score two tries along with efforts from Josh Adams and Dan Edwards as Wales held off a second-half Japan comeback to clinch the win at the Noevir Stadium. It earned Wales their first Test win since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup. Sherratt took over as interim head coach following the departure of Warren Gatland during the Six Nations Championship in February and he hopes Saturday's win can help his successor start with a clean slate. 'A very passionate group of players and staff. There's some real talent as well,' Sherratt told a post-match press conference. 'Today is the end of a long season, but for Welsh rugby it's got to be the start of something. 'The next guy coming in – the big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck. 'That was a big motivation for me coming in. The work's got to be done now with the national coaches in the regions, lets get into the regions and help develop a good young group of players.' Sherratt had overseen four of those 18 defeats coming into Saturday's contest and expressed his delight for Wales' players and staff to finally earn a win as emotions ran high at full-time. He added: 'For me, it's about the people. As I said before, I've genuinely never wanted to win a game of rugby so much. 'I'm not around it being win or loss. I'm more around I know what the group has put in – I've been around for four games, but I see what it means to them, what it means to the staff. 'I was so pleased for this group, there's not been a more deserving group that I've worked with, so it was pretty emotional. 'I had to get Gethin Jenkins to give me a slap around the face to get in check because as you'd seen, I could have easily embarrassed myself on TV.' Wales took a 21-10 lead into half-time thanks to efforts from Adams and Hardy, before Shuhei Takeuchi scored before the break. Edwards' penalty extended the visitors' advantage, but they suddenly found themselves in trouble when converted tries from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley closed the gap to two points. However, Wales were able to see the game out after a brilliant piece of individual skill from Taine Plumtree saw him fire a reverse pass into Edwards and the fly-half dived over the line to wrap up the win. Reflecting on the game, skipper Dewi Lake added: 'I'm over the moon, it's been a long time coming. 'I look back at tough results we've had over the last 18 months, couple of one-pointers, couple of two-pointers. We were probably in the driving seat last week and let it slip. 'To dig in and get the job done today is an amazing feeling.'
The Independent
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Wales fend off Japan fightback to end losing run
Wales held on to end their 18-match losing Test run with a hard-fought 31-22 victory over Japan. Played under the closed roof of the Noevir Stadium, Wales scored three first-half tries, with Josh Adams opening the scoring and Kieran Hardy going over twice after Lee Seung-sin's penalty, but Japan struck on the stroke of half-time through Shuhei Takeuchi. Although Dan Edwards' penalty extended Wales' lead, they slipped into trouble as two tries in quick succession from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley brought Japan back into the game. However, Edwards crossed with five minutes remaining to seal a much-needed victory for Wales and snap a lengthy losing run to secure a first Test win since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup. Matt Sherratt made four changes from the side beaten by The Brave Blossoms last weekend, with Freddie Thomas, Archie Griffin and Aaron Wainwright lining up alongside Edwards, who was making his first start. Wales scored the opening try when Blair Murray squeezed through a gap and charged down the pitch before offloading to Adams to cross. Edwards added the conversion. Japan had a great opportunity when Ichigo Nakakusu eased through the Welsh defence and looked to have played in Michael Leitch, but the flanker was hauled down as Wales recovered. A mistake allowed Wainwright to pounce on a loose ball before launching a tidy grubber kick up-field for Adams. The winger reached the ball on the try-line but was unable to get a firm grip to ground it and it bounced out of play. Japan earned their first points of the game from Lee's penalty kick, but the visitors extended their advantage shortly afterwards from a line-out where the rolling maul reached the edge of the try-line and Hardy was able to reach over and touch down, with Edwards converting. Faulua Makisi was sent to the sin bin and Wales soon took advantage of their extra man when a great switch in play allowed Adams to cut in from the left and break forward before passing into Hardy, who dived over, with Edwards scoring from the tee. Japan pulled a try back just before half-time when Takeuchi surged over the line and Lee converted. Wales suffered an early blow after the break when Nicky Smith was forced off through injury. Gareth Thomas came on, and although Japan started well, it was Wales who struck next as Edwards kicked a penalty. The hosts then enjoyed a superb build-up of phases which resulted in Dearns powering over the line and following a TMO review the try stood, but Lee's conversion flew wide of the posts. Wales suddenly found themselves in trouble as Riley latched onto a sloppy pass and sprinted up the centre of the pitch to cross underneath the posts. Lee converted to reduce the gap to two points. A cagey end to the game followed, but the visitors piled forward with five minutes to play and a quick move to the left allowed Edwards to cross before converting his own effort to wrap up the win.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Matt Sherratt hopes ‘time to grieve' allows Wales to bounce back
Wales head coach Matt Sherratt well send his side into second Test battle with Japan having allowed them to 'grieve' over their heart-breaking defeat in the first encounter. The Welsh face the Brave Blossoms under the closed roof at Noevir Stadium in Kobe on Saturday desperate to gain revenge for last weekend's 24-19 reverse in Kitakyushu, in which they led 19-7 with 20 minutes remaining. That represented an 18th successive defeat for a proud rugby nation, and Sherratt revealed he has taken a piece of advice from British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell on board as he plots the way forward. Asked how he has lifted the players, he said: 'I learned from the Six Nations. I will tell you how it happened, actually. 'I met Andy Farrell after the Scotland game and he asked what we'd done that week, and he kind of said, 'Listen, sometimes when players have had an emotional run, they need time to grieve', and it just made complete sense to me. 'It's like grieving over anything takes time, so we gave them two days off and we really just left them alone for two days because… I'll be honest, it was a tough changing room after the boys had put so much into the week that what I didn't want to do was get them back in Monday and almost re-open the wounds, so we had two days off. 'First and foremost, I think that was probably the most important thing, and then we showed them the score at 60 minutes, which was 19-7 to us. 'We didn't get enough set-piece in quality positions from 20 minutes on, so we were just really factual and said if we can do that, then we've got a chance of winning the game.' Only time will tell if that approach will have the desired impact, but Sherratt has been encouraged by what he has seen in training since. He said: 'Genuinely if you'd watched today, you wouldn't know if it was a team that had won 10 on the trot or lost 10 on the trot. 'They're a good group. I think we've got them back into as good a place as we can.' Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards will make his first start for his country in one of four changes with Gloucester second-rower Freddie Thomas replacing the injured Ben Carter, Dragons number eight Aaron Wainwright coming in for Taulupe Faletau and Bath prop Archie Griffin getting the nod over Keiron Assiratti. Sherratt is hoping the inclusion of 22-year-old Edwards, who will win his third cap in place of Sam Costelow, will bring a certain 'X-factor' to his team. He said: 'He has got some X-factor, Dan. I'm learning about the players – it's obviously only my second campaign, it's my second time of coaching Dan. 'What's caught my eye? Well two things: one – and it's the most important one for a fly-half – he's got a very, very good head on his shoulders in terms of he's got a great attitude, he's very decisive, which is huge, he leads the team well. 'And the second thing, he's a triple threat, so what I mean by that is he can run, pass and kick. I didn't realise how quick he was, really, until this camp, but over the last couple of weeks, if he's seen a gap, he's got good pace to take it so he's got some X-factor.'
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Wales aim to change Leitch opinion after heat comments
Summer tour second Test: Japan v WalesVenue: Noevir (Misaki Park) Stadium, Kobe Date: Saturday, 12 July Kick-off: 06:50 BSTCoverage: 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. Wales are hoping Japan captain Michael Leitch will not see the tourists struggling in the Kobe heat on said the Wales players were "blowing" and "the guys in the red shirts were feeling it more than us" during the latter stages of Japan's 24-19 victory in are expected to be very humid in Kobe in the second Test match with with the Noevir Stadium having a retractable roof that is expected to be closed as Japan look to complete a first series victory against Wales."Their captain came out after the game and said a few things," said Wales scrum coach Adam Jones."So hopefully we'll pay heed to that and hopefully he'll have a different opinion of us after the game on Saturday." The match kicked off at 14:00 local time in the mid-afternoon session with this weekend's start time 50 minutes extreme conditions resulted in three-minute water breaks being introduced in each half and an extended half-time interval of 20 minutes, with players wearing ice caps to keep cool."It was sensible around World Rugby, giving the water breaks," said Jones."It was touch-and-go whether that was going to be the case but there was enough stoppages and ball-in-play time wasn't massive."The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) lobbied to change the kick-off time but Japan and head coach Eddie Jones had their wish of when the game started."A lot of it was made around Eddie having the time [he wanted]," said Jones."If I remember correctly, Wales played the same sort of time in the last summer tour when we were in Japan. So I am sure Eddie was not up to his old tricks."Before arriving in Japan, Wales tried to prepare the players with sessions in a special heat chamber."It was hot for both sides, we've done as much as we can, being in Wales, it's not as if we're living in Dubai," said Jones."You can put the boys in the heated chamber, have them wearing extra layers of stuff, but it doesn't replicate that." Seeking scrum clarity The Welsh set-piece struggled in the Japan heat as the visitors' scrum initially had the upper hand before the hosts took says he has sought clarity of some of the interpretations of referee Damian Schneider, with the more experienced English official Luke Pearce taking charge in Kobe on Saturday."It was frustrating I didn't pick up on what they [Japan] were doing, it's hard when you're not in there," said Jones."I've had a few positive phone calls and chats with the people we need to speak to around this type of stuff, so hopefully it'll be a bit different on the weekend and looked at in a different way."We need to be better ourselves, we'll change a few bits around and hopefully we put a better performance on the field."I'm pretty analytical. I won't be ranting or raving. I'll make sure we get back to what we need to do and get the process that gives us the best chance of being dominant."Japan kept their front-row trio on for 80 minutes in the searing sunshine."They were technically good," said Jones."We were bigger, as in bigger men, heavier men, but certainly across the back five of the scrum, there was a lot of weight constantly through the whole course of the game."
