Wales ended their 18-Test losing streak with a gritty 31-22 win over Japan in Kobe, with skipper Josh Macleod producing an outstanding display in the No. 7 jersey.
The Pembrokeshire openside delivered a performance that Scarlets fans have been witnessing all season, with a try-saving tackle on opposite number Michael Leitch and a couple of trademark turnover penalties the highlights.
Blair Murray was his usual livewire self – setting up the opening try for Josh Adams; Tom Rogers and Johnny Williams were solid behind the scrum, while Taine Plumtree’s second-half cameo also caught the eye, notably a superb clearance kick when tracking back in his own 22 and an audacious behind-the-back pass that set up Dan Edwards’s match-winning try.
Afterwards, Plumtree told the media: “As a bench player you need to bring a level of energy, especially in that heat. We are pretty stoked to get the result, the boys have been working hard over the last five weeks; the last couple of years have been tough so it has been good to finally get that win.”
Earlier on Saturday morning, prop Alec Hepburn became the 260th player to represent the Scarlets on the international stage when he came off the bench in the second half of Scotland’s 29-14 defeat to Fiji in Suva.
On Monday afternoon (2.30pm KO; Rugby Pass TV), Wales U20s take on England in a fifth-place play-off sem-final. Scarlets Academy tight-head prop Jac Pritchard is named among the replacements.
Elsewhere, Wales Women’s U20s face Italy at Ystrad Mynach on Thursday in the final match of the 2025 Summer Series buoyed by an impressive 52-29 win over Scotland at the same venue.
There was a player of the match display from Brython Thunder playmaker Hanna Marshall, while Thunder team-mate Savannah Picton-Powell crossed for a couple of tries.