Japan Women 5–29 Wales Women: WXV Final Score, Tries and Match Report

Full time: Japan Women 5–29 Wales Women. Wales defeated Japan at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama Prefecture on Saturday, October 31, 2026, in their second meeting of the 2026 WXV Global Series. The Japan Rugby Football Union now marks the match finished and reports a 19–5 Wales lead at halftime, followed by a 10–0 second half. This is the confirmed final score, not an earlier live or halftime update.

The match began at 4:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+09:00) on October 31, equivalent to 07:00 UTC and 7:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+00:00) in Wales on the same date. Japan does not observe daylight saving time; Wales had returned to GMT on October 25. The Japanese federation’s completed match record and World Rugby’s WXV match center identify this Kumagaya fixture.

Japan Women vs Wales Women: final score and match facts

These timings describe the same kickoff instant at three locations, not three different broadcasts or events. The official result belongs to the October 31 match at Kumagaya; Wales' 17–0 win on October 24 was a separate international in Tokyo.

How Wales won 29–5: confirmed scoring timeline

Wales crossed for five tries and converted two, while Japan scored one unconverted try. The official Japanese event log identifies the players and scoring sequence below. The second-half minutes are shown as elapsed match time for ease of reading, converted from the federation's second-half log.

Metcalfe's early try and George's conversion put Wales ahead, but Japan responded through hooker Nagaoka in the 15th minute. Japan's missed conversion left Wales in front by two points. Jones and Williams then scored before the break, allowing the visitors to take a 19–5 lead into halftime. Tuipulotu and Williams added two unconverted tries after the interval. Japan did not add to its total in the second half.

Williams finished with two tries, while Metcalfe, Jones and Tuipulotu scored one each. George supplied Wales' two successful conversions. For Japan, Nagaoka supplied all five points. Those individual scoring records reconcile with the final 29–5 result; they do not depend on an unverified play-by-play account or a predicted result.

Japan Women's confirmed starting XV and replacements

Japan announced its matchday 23 on October 29, with Moe Tsukui captaining the side. The names below are the announced starters in jersey-number order, rather than a claim that all 15 played the entire match.

1. Hinata Komaki
2. Moe Nagaoka
3. Wako Kitano
4. Masami Kawamura
5. Yuna Sato
6. Nami Asari
7. Jennifer Nduka
8. Savannah Bodman
9. Moe Tsukui (captain)
10. Sawa Harada
11. Mele Yua Havili Kagawa
12. Uta Kataoka
13. Sophie Akiko Langford
14. Honoka Tsunokawa
15. Komachi Imakugi

Japan's named replacements: Asuka Kuge, Manami Mine, Juka Fuji, Mio Nishimura, Sakurako Korai, Anan Seo, Chihiro Ito and Sora Nishimura. The Japan Rugby Football Union’s October 29 announcement records the complete pregame selection. Substitutions made during the game are documented separately in the completed match log.

Wales Women's starting XV and the Freya Bell change

Head coach Sean Lynn made five changes to the starting lineup, including a positional switch, compared with the previous Test. Kate Williams and Alex Callender were co-captains. The Welsh Rugby Union said Freya Bell was unavailable because of a knee injury, with Courtney Keight selected at center. The announcement did not establish an exact recovery timeline for Bell.

1. Gwenllian Pyrs
2. Kelsey Jones
3. Sisilia Tuipulotu
4. Branwen Metcalfe
5. Gwen Crabb
6. Kate Williams (co-captain)
7. Bethan Lewis
8. Alex Callender (co-captain)
9. Seren Lockwood
10. Lleucu George
11. Amy Williams
12. Courtney Keight
13. Carys Cox
14. Nel Metcalfe
15. Lisa Neumann

Wales' announced replacements: Molly Reardon, Maisie Davies, Elan Jones, Jorja Aiono, Georgia Evans, Bryonie King, Keira Bevan and Jenna De Vera. The Welsh Rugby Union’s October team announcement provides the selection context. These are the published pregame selections; readers looking for individual substitution times should use the official postgame match log.

What does the result mean for the WXV Global Series?

The 29–5 victory completed a two-match sweep for Wales over Japan in the October international fixtures. Wales had already won 17–0 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo on October 24. The two matches were separate Tests, not legs of a knockout aggregate-score contest. Their combined margin is not an official match result and should not replace either scoreline.

Japan's Nagaoka ended the team's scoreless run against Wales by recording the hosts' only try in Kumagaya. Wales, meanwhile, backed up its October 24 shutout with another win despite the altered starting lineup. These results can be reported without assuming a specific change in world ranking, a qualification place or a tournament title: none of those broader consequences is established solely by this match record.

The Welsh union described the October 31 encounter in advance as its final Test of 2026, and the result provides the outcome of that scheduled match. For readers comparing performance between the two meetings, the reliable figures are Japan 0–17 Wales in Tokyo and Japan 5–29 Wales in Kumagaya, with the date and stadium attached to each result.

How to watch highlights or verify the finished match

For the original Japan broadcast, the Japanese federation listed J SPORTS 1 on television and J SPORTS On Demand online, with coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m. JST (UTC+09:00) on October 31. That was a 15-minute pregame broadcast window, not the 4:00 p.m. kickoff. Access to any replay, clips or archived stream depends on rights and the provider's current availability; the Japanese listing alone does not confirm streaming rights in Wales or other countries.

For the definitive score, tries, conversions and match status, use the completed Japanese federation scorecard. For the fixture identity, venue and officiating appointments, use World Rugby’s match page. The Rugby Australia fixture listing also identifies the October 31 Kumagaya matchup. These links are preferable to an outdated live snapshot that still displays the halftime score or marks the game in progress.

Venue and officials

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium is located within Kumagaya Sports Culture Park in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. World Rugby names Julianne Zussman as referee, Sunny Lee and Hibiki Ikeda as assistant referees, Matt Rodden as television match official and Koki Yamauchi as foul-play review officer. These officiating appointments and the venue are listed on World Rugby's official fixture page.

Updated October 31, 2026, after full time: Wales Women beat Japan Women 29–5. The confirmed halftime score was 19–5 to Wales, and the final match record is marked finished. The 17–0 score associated with this pairing belongs only to their October 24 fixture in Tokyo.