In June 2013,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

toured Japan as part of the

2013 mid-year rugby test series The 2013 mid-year rugby union tests (also known as the summer internationals in the Northern Hemisphere) were international rugby union matches that were played in June 2013, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. These matches were played in the sec ...

. They faced Japan in a two-test series on 8 and 15 June, playing in the oldest dedicated

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

stadium in Japan,

Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium The in Higashiosaka is the oldest rugby union stadium in Japan specifically dedicated to rugby. Its location is next to Hanazono Central Park (花園中央公園, hanazono chūō kōen). Owned by the City of Higashiosaka, it opened in 1929 with ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, and the home stadium of Japanese rugby,

Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (also called Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium) is a rugby union stadium located in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List ...

in Tokyo. The test series was Wales' first test series against Japan since 2001, when Wales were victorious 2–0, and their first encounter since Wales' 72–18 victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool B match. Wales were also the first Tier 1 nation to play Japan in Japan since

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 2006. At the start of the tour Japan were yet to earn a victory over the Welsh, with Wales winning all fixtures before this test series. However, the second match of the series saw Japan win their first test match against Wales. The test series ended in a 1–1 draw with Wales winning the first test and Japan winning the second.

Fixtures

Squads

Wales

In the absence of

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

and Rob Howley with their commitments on the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-test series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a ...

Robin McBryde Robin Currie McBryde (born 3 July 1970), is a rugby union former player and coach. He gained 37 caps for Wales. He played hooker. Background McBryde was born in north Wales. He is a fluent Welsh speaker. McBryde worked as an overhead linesman ...

took on the role of head coach. On 21 May, McBryde named a 27-man squad for the tour. Aaron Shingler and

Ashley Beck Ashley Beck is a Wales international rugby union player. Beck currently played for Merthyr RFC, and has previously played for Worcester Warriors and the Ospreys. He has represented Wales and Wales U20. Club career Beck progressed through the ...

were ruled out with injury ahead of the tour (28 May) and was replaced with Josh Navidi and Adam Warren 15 players were also unavailable due to selection for the Lions tour to Australia. *Head coach:

''(interim)''

Japan

The Japanese 36-man squad for 2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup and Wales' tour of Japan. *Head coach: Eddie Jones * Caps and ages are to first Test ''(8 June 2013)''

Matches

First test

Note: * Dan Baker, Dafydd Howells, James King, Rhys Patchell, Emyr Phillips,

Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...

, Owen Williams (all Wales) and Yusuke Nagae (Japan) made their international debuts.

Second test

Note: * This was Japan's first victory over Wales.

References

{{Wales national rugby union team Wales national rugby union team tours of Japan Wales national rugby union team tours

Japan

Fixtures

Squads

Wales

Japan

Matches

First test

Second test

See also

References