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WXV 2: Final round team news as Tuipulotu starts for Wales against Japan
By Martyn Thomas
The destination of the WXV 2 2024 title will be decided at the end of the third and final round this weekend.
Australia head into their final match against Scotland on Saturday (kick-off 17:00 local time, GMT+2) knowing they will be crowned champions if they avoid defeat.
Yet, a bonus-point victory for Scotland would ensure the 2023 winners retain their title and there is also a scenario in which hosts South Africa can finish top of the second-level standings.
To have any chance of becoming champions, the Springbok Women must beat Italy with a bonus point in Saturday’s opening match (14:00 local time).
On Friday, meanwhile, Wales meet Japan (kick-off 16:00 local time) with the loser guaranteed to finish bottom of the standings. Regardless of their results, Wales, Australia, Scotland and Italy will qualify for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 at the completion of their matches.
You can watch all the action live and for free via RugbyPass TV, where there isn’t a local broadcast deal in place.
Get all the team news for the final round of WXV 2 matches below as and when it drops.
Wales v Japan
Ioan Cunningham has made three changes to the Wales starting line-up for their final round assignment in Cape Town.
Sisilia Tuipulotu comes into the front row for her first start of the tournament, while Abbie Fleming is selected in the second row. Donna Rose and Georgia Evans drop to the bench.
In the backs, Kayleigh Powell is handed the number 10 jersey in place of Lleucu George, whose campaign was ended by a knee injury picked up late in last week’s defeat to Italy.
Robyn Wilkins, who only arrived in South Africa on Tuesday, has been named among the replacements.
Meanwhile, Japan head coach Lesley McKenzie has made two changes to the side the lost narrowly to Scotland last weekend.
Hooker Kotomi Taniguchi returns to the front row, swapping jersey numbers with Asuka Kuge who drops to the bench.
And the only other change comes in the backs, where Misaki Matsumura starts on the right wing in place of Rinka Matsuda, who drops out of the squad altogether.
There is, though, a return to the matchday 23 for forward Kyoko Hosokawa, who is named among the replacements with Sakurako Korai dropping out.
Wales: 15. Jasmine Joyce, 14. Carys Cox, 13. Hannah Jones (captain), 12. Hannah Bluck, 11. Nel Metcalfe, 10. Kayleigh Powell, 9. Keira Bevan, 1. Gwenllian Pyrs, 2. Carys Phillips, 3. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 4. Natalia John, 5. Abbie Fleming, 6. Alisha Butchers, 7. Allex Callender, 8. Bethan Lewis.
Replacements: 16. Molly Reardon, 17. Maisie Davies, 18. Donna Rose, 19. Georgia Evans, 20. Kate Williams, 21. Sian Jones, 22. Robyn Wilkins, 23. Courtney Keight.
Japan: 15. Sora Nishimura, 14. Misaki Matsumura, 13. Mana Furuta, 12. Haruka Hirotsu, 11. Komachi Imakugi, 10. Ayasa Otsuka, 9. Moe Tsukui, 1. Sachiko Kato, 2. Kotomi Taniguchi, 3. Wako Kitano, 4. Yuna Sato, 5. Otoka Yoshimura, 6. Masami Kawamura, 7. Iroha Nagata (captain), 8. Seina Sato.
Replacements: 16. Asuka Kuge, 17. Manami Mine, 18. Nijiho Nagata, 19. Kyoko Hosokawa, 20. Jennifer Nduka, 21. Megumi Abe, 22. Minori Yamamoto, 23. Kanako Kobayashi.
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Latest Comments
If your B Team beat our B Team, then yes, your B Team is better than our B Team.
But to to draw the conclusion that your B Team is better than our B Team because your B Team beat another team is childish.
Go to commentsRazor does have a conundrum - Will Jordan scores tries! The majority of his AB career has been wing, but his favoured position is Full Back. Is Will Jordan an exceptional fullback? The answer is probably NO. He's not especially good under the high ball. He's not especially good kicking out of defense. And he's not an especially good tackler or last defender. But he does score tries!
However, I believe Razor is being myopic in his team selections and game plan. This year was the year to try different things. Everyone would accept losses this year if he was really trying different combos
But in reality he's not... I think Ioane is an amazing winger. He's a good defender at center but he creates nothing at center because for 3 years now his passing and distrubution skills have remained poor. But Razor persists and doesn't give Proctor a chance. The problem is compounded for our centers because Jordie is not a good distributor either - so in the end the ball rarely gets to the wing unless DMAC does a cross field kick. Jordie and/or Reiko bashing the ball up is just so damn predictable.
Scooter is a good player, but after 9 games his leadership must be under question. Furthermore in the 7 games he has captained, I believe the leadership burden has affected his game.
Is Scooter a world class 4 - absolutley not. But unlike Rassie who converted PSDT to the blindside role - Razor has not contemplated doing the same with Scooter.
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