Wales secured a first home victory since the summer of 2023 against Japan, sparking wild scenes at the full time whistle.

With time to absorb the events of Saturday evening, Sportin Wales assesses the fallout.

Snatched victory from the jaws of defeat

The first thing out of captain Dewi Lake’s mouth in his post match press conference was the line “winning is a habit, isn’t it?” and for Wales’ 24-23 victory over Japan, nothing could be more important.

Despite ending their record losing run with a win over Saturday’s opponents during their summer tour, Wales ended a record run of 10 successive home test defeats with victory.

That the likes of Max Llewellyn and Lake had only won in the red of Wales at the Principality Stadium once in their careers before today, is a massive step forward for the team and a weight off Steve Tandy’s shoulders ahead of two devilishly difficult matches with New Zealand and South Africa to come.

Attack misfires… until it does

For 77 minutes, Wales’ attack spluttered and stuttered it’s way to three tries without being able to impose the kind of control needed on the contest.

Then, with 90 seconds left on the clock, on came Jarrod Evans.

With his side camped in their own 22 and heading for a damaging defeat, Evans orchestrated clean, accurate plays that eventually led to Wales winning a penalty just over halfway. A calm kick to the corner and the forwards winning a maul penalty give the Harlequins flyhalf his moment.

Evans slotted a last-gasp penalty to the delight of the Principality Stadium crowd – whose roars let Tandy know that a 10-Test losing streak on home soil had been ended.

It seems odd to say when comparing a win to a 24-point defeat, but Wales’ attack was much more fluid against Argentina the week before. However, this is to be expected.

Tandy and Matt Sherratt’s gameplan is still bedding in and will need some time to work with the fluidity necessary to take bigger scalps than Japan.

Rees-Zammit returns with a bang

Louis Rees-Zammit marked his full return to the international scene with a typical try. Given his first start in 25 months, he replaced Tom Rogers and proved Tandy’s decision right, scoring a key try while Wales were down to 14 men due to Adams’ red card.

His extra height and physicality helped his side rectify their aerial issues, and he produced a searing break in the first half before failing to pass to the supporting Tomos Williams.

However, he shook off the disappointment of that missed opportunity to score a well-taken effort in the second period. Williams’ pass was the highlight of that score, though, with his ability to pick the right pass a key factor in Wales’ attacking play throughout the match.

Ill-discipline costs Wales again

Neither side were squeaky clean – Japan were shown three yellow cards throughout the contest – but Wales’ trend of giving away cheap penalties continued.

The hosts also lacked discipline with a 20-minute red card given to wing Josh Adams for a dangerous clearout.

Tandy labelled that decision harsh but the incident occurred a week after Ben Thomas was sin-binned for kicking out at Argentina flanker Pablo Matera.

“We’ve played 40 minutes with 14 men, it’ll catch up with you,” said Tandy.

“We also gave away some sloppy penalties from kick-offs. Discipline is something we can control much better.”

With the All Blacks and Springboks arriving in Cardiff over the next two weeks, Wales have to clean up that area of their game if they are to avoid some ugly scorelines.

Individuals show their mettle

In a pressure cauldron of a match, a number of individuals showed that they have a future in a Wales jersey. With Wales now building towards the 2027 World Cup, the likes of Alex Mann and Dan Edwards are the types of players that Tandy can rely on for strong performances.

Olly Cracknell was excellent on full debut too and was named player of the match, while regulars Tomos Williams, Rees-Zammit, Lake, and Dafydd Jenkins stood up to be counted.

Yes the performance was not what will be required to get wins in the Six Nations next spring, but the victory and the boost that it will give to the side and their progression under Tandy is arguably more important.

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