Wales make four changes for second test against Japan, as they make five

Wales have made four changes to their side to take on Japan in Saturday's second test in Kobe as they bid to end a record 18-game losing streak.

Dan Edwards is named at flyhalf to win a third cap and make his first start for Wales in place of Sam Costelow, while the experienced Aaron Wainwright starts at number eight and Taulupe Faletau drops out.

Archie Griffin takes over at tighthead prop from the injured Keiron Assiratti, and Freddie Thomas comes in at lock following Ben Carter’s concussion to partner Teddy Williams in the second row.

Carter's tour to Japan lasted all of 27 seconds as he was released from the squad on Tuesday. The 24-year-old was involved in a heavy collision immediately at the start of the test in Kitakyushu, which Wales lost 24-19, and underwent several minutes of treatment before being carried off on a stretcher.

There is again a six-two split among the replacements, and tighthead prop Christian Coleman, scrumhalf Reuben Morgan-Williams and wing Keelan Giles could all make their debuts with an appearance off the bench.

"I want to have a little bit of a freshen-up. So, Dan Edwards comes in at 10," coach Matt Sherratt said on Thursday.

"Dan’s trained brilliantly over the three weeks. He was great in the Six Nations, so we want to have a look at him.

"Unfortunately, Ben Carter has gone home, so Freddie Thomas comes in. Keiron Assiratti has not been able to train as much as we’d like this week. So, it was more sensible to start Archie (Griffin), and that gives Chris Coleman a chance to make his debut off the bench.

"Toby (Faletau) had a little bit of heat stress-related cramping. We decided it was best Aaron Wainwright starts at No. 8."

Looking ahead to Saturday, he added: “I think our biggest challenge this week is going to be repeating some of the good and then in that last 20 minutes, making our lineout launch more effective so we can get our game on the field. Perhaps being a little bit braver with the ball as well."

TEAM: 15-Blair Murray, 14-Tom Rogers, 13-Johnny Williams, 12-Ben Thomas, 11-Josh Adams, 10-Dan Edwards, 9-Kieran Hardy, 8-Aaron Wainwright, 7-Josh Macleod, 6-Alex Mann, 5-Teddy Williams, 4-Freddie Thomas, 3-Archie Griffin, 2-Dewi Lake (captain), 1-Nicky Smith

Replacements: 16-Liam Belcher, 17-Gareth Thomas, 18-Christian Coleman, 19-James Ratti, 20-Taine Plumtree, 21-Tommy Reffell, 22-Reuben Morgan-Williams, 23-Keelan Giles.

JAPAN MAKES FIVE CHANGES

Elsewhere, Japan coach Eddie Jones made five changes to his side to take on Wales in the second test at Kobe on Saturday despite their 24-19 win over the tourists last weekend.

Two changes in the pack and three in the backline were announced on Thursday with Faulua Makisi replacing Amato Fakatava at the base of the scrum and Keijiro Tamefusa taking over from Shuhei Takeuchi in the front row.

Naoto Saito is back at scrumhalf after helping Toulouse win France’s Top 14 competition, which means Shinobu Fujiwara drops to the bench.

Halatoa Vailea, who came on and scored a try in Kitakyushu in the first test, gets a start on the wing and Ichigo Nakakusu, another try scorer at the weekend, replaces the injured Takuro Matsunaga at fullback.

The uncapped duo of Kazuma Ueda and Australian-born Sam Greene were named among the replacements as Jones continues to bolster his squad with an eye on the next World Cup. Last week he named eight uncapped players in his match-day 23.

Wing Ueda was in Japan’s sevens team at last year’s Olympic Games while 30-year-old Greene is a former Queensland Reds flyhalf.

TEAM: 15-Ichigo Nakakusu, 14-Kippei Ishida, 13-Dylan Riley, 12-Shogo Nakano, 11-Halatoa Vailea, 10-Lee Seungsin, 9-Naoto Saito, 8-Faulua Makisi, 7-Jack Cornelsen, 6-Michael Leitch (captain), 5-Warner Dearns, 4-Epineri Uluiviti, 3-Keijiro Tamefusa, 2-Mamoru Harada, 1-Yota Kamimori

Replacements: 16-Hayate Era, 17-Sena Kimura, 18-Shuhei Takeuchi, 19-Waisake Raratubua, 20-Ben Gunter, 21-Shinobu Fujiwara, 22-Sam Greene, 23-Kazuma Ueda.