Wales vs Japan Prediction: Brave Blossoms to put up a fight

Wales will be looking for a response to their defeat at the hands of Argentina last weekend when they host Japan at the Principality Stadium on Saturday (17:40 GMT, BBC iPlayer) in the Autumn Nations Series.

Below are my Wales vs Japan predictions, as well as all the essential team news and match odds for the clash in Cardiff.

Team News

Starting with Wales, the hosts opt for a front row of Nicky Smith, stand-in skipper Dewi Lake and Archie Griffin.

Locks Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard start in the engine room, while the pack is completed with a back-row of Aaron Wainwright, Alex Mann and Olly Cracknell.

Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards start in the half-backs, with Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn combining in the centres.

Josh Adams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Blair Murray form a dangerous back three for the Welsh.

As for Japan, the visitors go with Kenta Kobayashi, Kenji Sato and Keijiro Tamefusa in the front row.

Epineri Uluiviti and skipper Warner Dearns start in the second row, while the Brave Blossoms go with a back row of Jack Cornelsen, Kanji Shimokawa and Faulua Makisi.

Naoto Saito and Lee Seung-sin start in the half-backs, with the centres seeing Charlie Lawrence and Dylan Riley combine.

Tomoki Osada, Kippei Ishida and Yoshitaka Yazaki complete the backline for Eddie Jones’ side.

Wales vs Japan Odds

Wales are the firm favourites at 2/11 for the win, while Japan are available at 18/5 to cause an upset at the Principality Stadium.

A draw in Cardiff on Saturday is 28/1, while Wales to be leading at both the half-time and full-time whistle is currently 8/15.

Japan +11 handicap @ 1/1

Wales began life under new head coach Steve Tandy with a disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, 52-28 defeat at the hands of a battle-hardened Argentina last weekend.

Conceding 31 points in the first half, Wales continue to struggle without the ball, and their defensive frailties were exposed by the Pumas, who ran in seven tries on the day.

That should give Japan hope that they can make this Saturday’s game a real contest in Cardiff.

Japan never really looked like causing an upset against Ireland in Dublin last weekend, as the Brave Blossoms went down 41-10 to the men in green.

However, Andy Farrell’s Ireland are one of the best in the business, and Japan will feel they can get a scalp against the Welsh, who have lost 19 of their last 20 Test matches.

The return of Rees-Zammit, following his brief spell in the NFL, will give Wales a serious weapon out on the wing, and it would be little surprise to see the Bristol Bears star score at least one try this weekend.

However, Wales can’t rely on one man, and, given their poor defensive record, Japan, with a +11 handicap, gets the green light.

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