Wales has made history by naming a record nine players based outside the country in their starting line-up to face Japan in Cardiff on Saturday. This match marks the beginning of the autumn section of their Nations Championship campaign, following a significant victory over Japan in the summer of 2025, which ended a painful 20-month losing streak.

Head coach Steve Tandy expresses confidence in building on the optimism that has developed since that win. However, the inclusion of nine England-based players has sparked controversy. The starting XV features:

• Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, and Max Llewellyn from Gloucester
• Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol)
• Tomos Williams (Saracens)
• Nicky Smith (Sale)
• Archie Griffin (Bath)
• Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter)
• Aaron Wainwright (Leicester)

This selection signifies a substantial shift since the 60-cap rule for overseas players was lowered to 25 caps in February 2023. Tandy emphasizes that selecting players based abroad is essential for the team's success, stating, “Ultimately it doesn’t matter where they play, it’ll be the best players selected.”

The match also features a notable centre pairing of Llewellyn and Eddie James, both of whom have never started a Test together before. Tandy remarks on the competition within the squad and the excitement of returning home for this match.

Wales aims to start their championship campaign strongly, having made seven changes since their 43-0 defeat to South Africa in July. The team for the match against Japan includes:

1. Blair Murray (Full-back)
2. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wing)
3. Eddie James (Centre)
4. Max Llewellyn (Centre)
5. Josh Adams (Wing)
6. Sam Costelow (Fly-half)
7. Tomos Williams (Scrum-half)
8. Aaron Wainwright (Number 8)
9. Jac Morgan (Flanker)
10. Alex Mann (Flanker)
11. Ben Carter (Lock)
12. Dafydd Jenkins (Lock)
13. Archie Griffin (Prop)
14. Dewi Lake (Captain)
15. Nicky Smith (Prop)