Wales Women team to face Japan: Sean Lynn makes five changes

Sean Lynn has promoted several of the replacements who helped close out the first Test win, making five changes to his starting side for the second WXV Test against Japan on Saturday 31 October.

Wales won the opening Test 17-0 in Tokyo the previous weekend, and the head coach made it clear that places were earned on that performance.

"We have made the changes to reward the players who finished the job in Tokyo," Lynn said.

Changes in the pack and at fly-half

Flanker Bethan Lewis, who impressed off the bench, makes her first start of the campaign. Her selection moves co-captain Alex Callender to number eight. Gwen Crabb and Gwenllian Pyrs also step up from the replacements to start in the forwards.

Lleucu George gets the fly-half jersey, with Keira Bevan dropping to the bench. George partners scrumhalf Seren Lockwood, who scored two tries in the first Test.

The fifth change is forced. Courtney Keight comes in at centre for Freya Bell, who suffered a serious knee injury in the opening Test. BBC Sport reported that Bell looks set for a long spell on the sidelines.

Lynn has kept the same balance on the bench as before, with six forwards and two backs.

"The big message is you don't own the jersey. Nobody will own this jersey," he said.

A chance to finish the year strongly

The game at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama Prefecture is Wales' last of 2026, with kick-off at 07:00 GMT (09:00 SAST). Canada's Julianne Zussman will referee.

Wales have beaten Japan and South Africa in WXV and lost narrowly to the USA. Another win would give them three victories from four games. The first-Test result also lifted them above Japan to 11th in the world rankings.

Wales are without a Women's Six Nations victory since beating Italy in the last round of 2024, and their 2027 campaign starts with England visiting them.