Welsh rugby decline gathers pace after loss to Japan

Summer tour second Test: Japan v Wales

Venue: Noevir (Misaki Park) Stadium, Kobe Date: Saturday, 12 July Kick-off: 06:50 BST

So the depressing decline of Welsh rugby keeps gathering pace.

As the Wales rugby team leave Kitakyushu for a second time in six years, the heady days of 2019 seem a lifetime ago.

When Warren Gatland’s squad departed their training base in the Japanese city back then to concentrate on the World Cup, they were second in the official rankings having been top just a month earlier.

Wales were the recently crowned Six Nations Grand Slam champions and would go on to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Japan before a narrow defeat to eventual winners South Africa.

Contrastingly, Matt Sherratt’s side have departed Kitakyushu to travel to Kobe for the second Test, reflecting on how they relinquished a match-winning position and lost 24-19 to Eddie Jones’ Japan in the first match of the series.

It meant a record 18th consecutive Test defeat, continuing a losing streak that stretches back 21 months.

That is a record for a tier one nation, while Japan also recorded a first victory against tier one opposition for six years.

Wales have now followed up their record 68-14 Six Nations defeat against England in March in Cardiff with only a second loss to Japan.

The previous failure came 12 years ago when Jones was also in charge of Japan but this victory for such an inexperienced Brave Blossoms side was more impressive, and in contrast, more humbling for Wales.

The 2013 defeat for Wales came when they fielded a second-choice side with 15 players away with the British and Irish Lions.

Twelve years on, Wales were closer to a full-strength available squad, with only flanker Jac Morgan and scrum-half Tomos Williams initially picked for the Lions in Australia and a few players rested or injured.

After Williams’ injury during that tour, Morgan is the only representative left in Andy Farrell’s squad to further underline how far Welsh rugby has fallen.

Not many nations would head on a summer tour without a permanent head coach but this is what Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have chosen.

With former head coach Warren Gatland having left the role in February and his successor yet to be appointed, Wales have a fresh coaching staff at the helm for just this trip.

Sherratt has again taken on the interim head coach role before returning to his Cardiff day job next season.

He is backed up by Gethin Jenkins, Danny Wilson and Leigh Halfpenny, while Adam Jones and Rhys Thomas have continued their Six Nations roles.

What can Wales do in less than a week?

The malfunctioning lineout and manner in which Japan gained the upper hand in the scrum, after early Wales dominance, will need to be rectified and questions will be asked on whether replacements could have been introduced sooner.

Sherratt might well reflect on his selection and ponder whether there needs to be changes for next weekend in Kobe.

There might be a chance for fly-half Dan Edwards instead of Sam Costelow. Why scrum-half Rhodri Williams was an unused replacement for Kieran Hardy in the intense heat appears baffling.

Could the Wales caretaker rethink his midfield selection of Johnny Williams alongside Ben Thomas, given the pair are both specialist inside centres?

There has been no consistency in selection throughout the season as Wales are almost hoping they stumble on a winning formula.

For example, Thomas and Williams were the eighth different centre combination in nine games over the 2024-25 campaign.

While the effort and desire is evident, currently the quality or belief is not.

This Wales side have forgotten how to win. In fact, many of the players have never experienced success for their country on the senior stage.

This lack of confidence was glaringly obvious in Kitakyushu as Wales allowed their hosts to recover from a 12-point deficit to inflict further misery on the beleaguered tourists.

The depressing aftermath of these defeats has also become familiar. It continues to be uncomfortable viewing as proud young Welshmen once more experience another loss while representing their country.

Captain Lake looked a broken man afterwards, while seeing inexperienced internationals Tom Rogers and Blair Murray just staring into the abyss after the final whistle was hard to watch.

There were some familiar standout players. Number eight Taulupe Faletau is Wales’ oldest and most experienced performer on this tour at the ripe old age of 34. He also remains the best player, with his class continually shining through.

While wing Josh Adams was also prominent, Faletau continues to be Wales’ leading light as he created two of the three tries for the tourists.

Faletau trudged off slowly during the second half, as he, like many players, appeared to be struggling with the extreme heat, but Sherratt said the veteran forward’s withdrawal was a tactical replacement.

Wales will hope he is fit next weekend because they are an inferior side without him.

It was after the Cardiff forward departed on 56 minutes, when the visitors were leading 19-7, that Japan’s final-quarter flourish occurred.

Faletau is not the most animated character but he leads expertly by example and his absence in the latter stages was noticeable.

It was evident that, while Wales wilted in the extreme conditions late on, there is also a lack of experienced international leaders in the current set-up as the tourists could not stop Japan’s second-half momentum.

The players and coaches will be scrutinised following another dire defeat, with some brutal comments on social media already on display.

However, the powerbrokers need to take responsibility, with Welsh rugby in freefall on and off the field.

WRU chief executive Abi Tierney has officially been in charge since January 2024, with all 18 international defeats coming on her watch.

She does not pick the team, nor is to blame for why the supply chain of top-class players has dried up in recent years, but should expect questions on why it has taken five months, and counting, to appoint a new head coach.

Tierney, who is in Japan alongside WRU president Terry Cobner, inherited a mess but the demise has intensified during her tenure.

The chief executive and chair Richard Collier-Keywood is responsible for leading the game in Wales which is in disarray across the board.

There has yet been no evidence of strong leadership from the current regime to fix the sinking ship.

New director of rugby Dave Reddin has been tasked with appointing Gatland’s successor in time for the autumn internationals, while Tierney and Collier-Keywood have other matters on their agenda.

The domestic game is in flux with a major debate going on about the future of professional clubs in Wales and suggestions the number of teams could be reduced from four to three, or even two.

The WRU has so far remained publicly tight-lipped on its plans for the Welsh game’s future, which has created more uncertainty among players, coaches and supporters.

So despite what happens next weekend in Kobe, as Wales aim for a first Test victory in what will be 644 days, it will not be the end of Welsh rugby’s turmoil.

A win might provide some short-term respite and a glimmer of hope, with Sherratt saying the squad must channel the hurt from Kitakyushu to fuel their bid to level the series.

But a solitary success will not chase away all the clouds hovering over rugby in Wales. That is the sad reality.