‘A decent start’ – attack gives Wales reason for hope

Autumn Nations Series: Wales v Japan

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 17:40 GMT

Wales started the Steve Tandy era by scoring four tries in Cardiff for the first time since the opening round of the 2024 Six Nations, but it was the seven they conceded to Argentina that was the problem.

The scale of the task facing Tandy was revealed by a 52-28 hammering by the Pumas in the autumn opener.

However, there were enough flashes at Principality Stadium to give reason for some optimism going into Saturday’s must-win game of a tough November against Japan.

Wales posed questions of the Pumas with ball in hand to leave attack coach Matt Sherratt reasonably content.

“It was a decent start. There was plenty of intent and some really good ball movement,” said Sherratt, who left his role as Cardiff head coach to become one of Tandy’s assistants.

“Our forwards in the middle of the field made some really late nice tips and pull-backs.

“We tried to get as many one v ones and as much quick ball for our backs as we could.

“There is still a lot of growth in every aspect of our attack but it’s pretty difficult to be cohesive after eight sessions.

Wales have a six-day turnaround to face a Japan side who pushed Ireland a lot closer than last weekend’s 41-10 scoreline suggests.

Sherratt was calling the shots as interim head coach in July when an 18-Test losing streak was ended in Kobe.

That long-awaited victory came after the Brave Blossoms had enjoyed a comeback victory in Kitakyushu against weary Welsh legs in sapping conditions.

It will be cooler in Cardiff this weekend but Eddie Jones’ men will still test the concentration of a defence that struggled to contain the slick Pumas.

“Japan’s big thing is speed. They want to play the fastest game on the planet, they try to play low and multi-phase,” said Sherratt.

“The speed battle is always big but against a team that thrive in that type of game it’s important for us to generate it in the middle of the field with go-forward and our ball movement.

“This campaign we have talked about trying to create our own identity. That’s going to take a little bit of time and work on the parts of the game that are more about us.

Wales are likely to give Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards another opportunity after he made his first Principality Stadium international start against the Pumas.

The 22-year-old wore 10 on his back in Kobe – scoring the late clincher – and intends to show more signs of progress.

“We’ve had two weeks together and eight sessions before Argentina and we produced a lot of good stuff,” Edwards said.