2001 Wales rugby union tour of Japan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2001 Wales rugby union tour of Japan was a series of matches played in June 2001 in Japan by the
Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...
. With their best players involved in the
2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in Australia. The Lions squad was captained by Martin Johnson, the first player to lead the Lions on two tours. The ...
, the squad featured a blend of youth and experience. Although they won just one of their non-test matches on tour, Wales won both tests against the Japan national team.


Squad


Results

''Scores and results list Wales' points tally first.''


Wales v Barbarians

Before embarking on their tour, Wales played an uncapped match against the
Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
, the first match of three for the Barbarians on their own tour of Great Britain. Much of the discussion regarding Wales' team selection for the match centred around fly-half
Gavin Henson Gavin Lloyd Henson (born 1 February 1982) is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre. Between 2000 and 2019 he played for Llanelli, Swansea RFC, the Ospreys, Saracens, Toulon, Ca ...
, who at , would be the youngest Wales player to appear at the position since
Llewellyn Lloyd George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland. Rugby career L ...
in 1896. Henson ultimately started the game on the bench, as coach
Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...
preferred
Neil Jenkins Neil Jenkins, (born 8 July 1971) is a Welsh former rugby union player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever ...
, one of eight Wales players in the team who were due to join the
British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
on their tour to Australia later in the summer. Shortly before the game, the Welsh Rugby Union decided to downgrade it from fully-capped to uncapped. The Barbarians held a 14–7 lead at half-time, thanks to tries from
Dan Luger Daniel Darko Luger MBE (born 11 January 1975) is a former English rugby union international who was a member of the squad that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Rugby career Club career Dan Luger was born in Chiswick and is the son of a Croat ...
and
Joeli Vidiri Joeli Vidiri (23 November 1973 – 23 February 2022) was a professional rugby union footballer who played as a wing. Born in Fiji, he earned seven caps for the Fiji national team before switching his allegiance to New Zealand, for whom he earn ...
, either side of one from Jenkins. Wales thought
Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record t ...
had levelled the scores with a try under the posts just before the break, but it was ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up. After the interval, Kevin Morgan scored a pair of tries for the home side, one converted by Jenkins and the other by Stephen Jones, to put them 21–14 up. Substitute winger Friedrich Lombard responded for the Barbarians, but
Braam van Straaten Abraham Johannes Jacobus "Braam" van Straaten (born 28 September 1971) is a former South African rugby union footballer. He was capable of playing either at fly-half or centre, and represented the Springboks in 21 tests from 1999 to 2001, scoring ...
missed the conversion to leave them two points behind. Williams did score a try shortly afterwards, with Jones converting to put Wales 28–19 up. The Barbarians' replacement hooker
Naka Drotské Allen Erasmus 'Naka' Drotské (born 15 March 1971) is a former South African rugby union player, who played for the Springboks between 1993 and 1999. Playing career Provincial Drotské played as a flank for the Schools team at the 1989 Craven ...
cut the deficit to two points again with a converted try, but
Craig Quinnell Craig Quinnell (born 9 July 1975, Swansea) is a former Welsh Rugby Union player. Quinnell played 54 games for the Cardiff club between November 1999 and May 2002 and established himself as one of the backbones of the pack. Though often in the ...
restored Wales' nine-point margin soon after. As the game entered the final minutes,
Percy Montgomery Percival Colin Montgomery OIS (born 15 March 1974) is a South African former professional rugby union player. When he ended his international career in August 2008, he held the all-time records for both caps and points for South Africa's nati ...
scored a try for the Barbarians, again converted by Van Straaten, only for Stephen Jones to kick a penalty moments later, putting Wales five points up shortly before the 80-minute mark; however, in the third minute of injury time, Lombard scored his second try of the game to level the scores, and Van Straaten kicked the conversion to give the Barbarians a 40–38 win.


Suntory v Wales

Wales' opening tour match was against Japanese league champions
Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...
, the first time a Japanese club side had faced a touring international team. Taking over as coach from Graham Henry, who was coaching the British & Irish Lions in Australia,
Lynn Howells Lynn Howells (born 29 May 1950) is a Welsh rugby union coach, who until March 2018 was the head coach of the Romanian national team, haven been the manager of the national side for 10 months prior to his appointment. Howells, born in Maerdy in R ...
named nine full internationals in the Wales team, including Stephen Jones, who was playing out of position at inside centre to accommodate Henson at fly-half. Jones captained the team in the absence of tour captain Andy Moore, who was rested. Cardiff flanker
Robin Sowden-Taylor Robin Sowden-Taylor (born 9 June 1982) is a Welsh international rugby player. Sowden-Taylor won his first Wales cap in the win over Italy in 2005 as part of the squad that won the Grand Slam that year. He was also a member of the 2008 Grand Sla ...
was picked to start despite not having played a senior match at club level; meanwhile, lock Craig Quinnell was picked to start the match, but he pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Adam Jones. Despite wing
Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for that ...
suffering a knee injury in the 17th minute that ultimately ruled him out of the rest of the tour, Wales held a 21–10 lead at half-time; however, four second-half tries from Suntory, including a last-minute winner, saw them come from behind to claim a 45–41 victory. Howells put the defeat down to fatigue brought about by the high temperatures, and a lack of control once they took a big lead. Centre Jamie Robinson also suffered an injury during the match, but it was deemed minor and he remained on tour.


Japan Select XV v Wales

Lynn Howells changed all 15 players in his starting line-up for the match against the Japan Select XV at
Nagai Stadium , known as the Yanmar Stadium Nagai ( ja, ヤンマースタジアム長居) for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium in Osaka, Japan. It is the home ground of J. League club Cerezo Osaka. The stadium has a seating capacity of 47,000. History When ...
in Osaka, and hailed the experience brought by the additions of centre Allan Bateman and lock Andy Moore for a match against a side including several foreign players; however, Bateman suffered an early ankle injury and although he was able to continue until half-time, he was taken off during the break and ultimately ruled out of the rest of the tour. The Japan Select XV scored the first try of the game, Jun Akune putting them 7–0 up after the conversion by Tanaka. Wales equalised through Adrian Durston's try, converted by Lee Jarvis, but a penalty from Tanaka put the Japan Select XV back in front. Jarvis put Wales 13–10 up as the interval approached, thanks to a pair of penalties, but a try from Tomokazu Yamauchi on the stroke of half-time put the home side 15–13 up at the change of ends. Within two minutes of the restart, Shane Williams gave Wales the lead again, his try again converted by Jarvis, who added a penalty shortly after. Williams then scored his second try of the match, just over 10 minutes into the second half, and Jarvis extended the margin to 15 points with the conversion. He scored a fourth penalty as the match entered the final 10 minutes to make the score 33–15, but the Japan Select XV scored a consolation try – a second for Yamauchi – to make the final score 33–22.


First test: Japan v Wales

Wales' first test against Japan was their 500th international match. Coach Lyn Howells selected a young team with an average age of 24, giving debuts to centre Adrian Durston and back rowers Andy Lloyd and
Gavin Thomas Gavin Michael Thomas (born 22 October 1977) is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a Flanker (rugby union), flanker. He played his club rugby for Tondu RFC, Tondu, Bridgend Ravens, Bridgend, Bath Rugby, Bath, the Ospreys ...
; full-back Kevin Morgan made his first international appearance for more than three years, and Stephen Jones made his first appearance of the tour at fly-half. Meanwhile, Japan had to play an under-strength team due to a dispute between the Japan Rugby Union and some of their clubs. Gareth Thomas scored the opening try for Wales after just four minutes, and Mark Jones crossed soon after. Kevin Morgan added another try, followed by scores from Lloyd and
Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record t ...
(2) before Morgan had his second of the game, and Durston scored Wales' eighth of the game before the end of the first half. Japan scored two tries in the second half, but they proved mere consolation as Williams added to his first-half double with two more, equalling the national record for the most tries by an individual in a single game. Captain Andy Moore came off with a strained groin before the end of the first half, but he praised the team's performance, particularly in the first half.


Pacific Barbarians v Wales

Wales made 14 changes from the team that beat Japan three days earlier; Mark Jones was the only survivor, switching from the right wing to the left. The inexperienced side conceded two tries in the first seven minutes, but a try from Mark Jones helped them recover to trail 17–16 at half-time; however, Wales were kept scoreless in the second half. Captain Chris Stephens was sin-binned for throwing a punch, and the Pacific Barbarians scored two more tries, as well as three more penalties, giving them a 36–16 win. Towards the end of the game, Mark Jones was stretchered off with knee ligament damage, putting an end to his tour. Stephens was criticised after the game for picking up a yellow card for punching; his selection as captain had already come under scrutiny before the game, having been fined £2,000 for punching Cross Keys player Ioan Bebb in the first game of the previous season, causing an eye injury that ended Bebb's career.


Second test: Japan v Wales

Despite his yellow card in the midweek match against the Pacific Barbarians, Chris Stephens was named on the bench for the second test against Japan. In the starting line-up, Wales made two changes from the first test;
Tom Shanklin Tomos George Llewellyn Shanklin (born 24 November 1979 in Harrow, London) is a former Welsh rugby union player who played outside centre for Cardiff Blues and Wales. He played club rugby for London Welsh and then Saracens, before joining Ca ...
was named on the wing to make his test debut in place of the injured Mark Jones, while
Nathan Budgett Nathan John Budgett (born 2 November 1975 in Newport)Nathan Budgett player profile
Scrum.com
was named in the back row in place of Andy Lloyd. Wales held a 19–3 lead after half an hour, thanks to a try from Gavin Thomas and two from Gareth Thomas, but two quick tries and a penalty for Japan put the home side 20–19 up at half-time. After the break, Wales scored four tries in the first 20 minutes; Gavin Thomas opened the scoring with his second try of the game, before Shane Williams scored his seventh try of the tour, followed by two in two minutes from debutant Shanklin. Scrum-half
Dwayne Peel Dwayne John Peel (born 31 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013. Yo ...
came on to make his test debut in the 73rd minute, shortly before Gareth Thomas completed his hat-trick. Following a consolation score from
Hirotoki Onozawa is a rugby union player who plays at wing or occasionally full back for Canon Eagles. He previously played for Suntory Sungoliath and the Japan national rugby union team. Nicknamed "the eel" for his sharp sidestepping ability, Onozawa is the sec ...
, fellow substitute Jamie Robinson scored another try with the final play of the game, giving Wales a 53–30 win and a 2–0 victory in the test series.


References

{{Wales national rugby union team
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
Tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
Tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
Wales national rugby union team tours Wales national rugby union team tours of Japan
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...