Sun Jul 13 01:30:00 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Japan Falls Short Against Wales in Rugby Test Match**
**KOBE, JAPAN -** In a hard-fought battle at Noevir Stadium Kobe, the Japan national rugby team (ranked 12th) was narrowly defeated by Wales (ranked 14th) with a score of 22-31 in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2025. A crowd of 25,074 witnessed Japan unable to secure their first consecutive victory against a “High-Performance Union” nation, leaving coach Eddie Jones’ second stint’s opening series with a split result (1 win, 1 loss).
Japan struggled with a slow start for the second consecutive match, falling behind early. While they managed a comeback victory in the first match (24-19), they couldn’t repeat the feat despite a contrasting strategic approach. The loss extends Japan’s winless streak against Wales to 18 games.
Scrum-half Naoto Saito made his first appearance of the season for the national team. Coming off a successful season in France’s top league, where he contributed to Toulouse’s three consecutive championships, Saito played for 56 minutes. Although he focused on executing their game plan, particularly using high kicks to energize the attack, Saito himself expressed a need for improved precision in his kicking.
Despite the loss, Coach Jones praised the performances of Saito and late-game substitute Fujiwara, calling them “satisfactory.”
Japan will next face Canada in Sendai on August 30th.
First Piper 