Wales won’t only be battling Japan this summer, but will also be fighting the hot and humid conditions expected. Kitakyushu where Wales will be playing the first Test of a two-Test series, is expected to be around 32 degrees come kickoff but it will feel much warmer.
Japan head coach, Eddie Jones has stated the plan for his side is ‘to run Wales off their feet’, so it was no surprise Jones wanted to play at 14:00- the hottest time of the day. So if Wales are to break their losing streak which consists of 17 Test matches, they’ll be doing it the hard way.
It’s not only the gameplay they’ll need to get right but how they tackle the conditions will also be key.
“As you can imagine at this level, a lot of the heat preparation went on before we came out, with the heat rooms and training in the conditions we were expecting,” said Rhys Thomas speaking to BBC Sport Wales on Tuesday afternoon.
“Our strength and conditioning, nutritionist and medical staff have got very good medical plans in place with our heat packs, our ice and recovery, trying to have as many breaks within the allotted time.
World Rugby in 2025 have updated their heat and air quality guidelines. They’ve done this to support players competing in hot conditions.
The guidelines include, when a team can have a water break, and also extending the half-time break and whether a game needs to be postponed or suspended are also listed.
“We’re hoping the strategy is going to go with heat restrictions almost in place, with a few breaks. We’ve been training for that accordingly.
“For both teams with the conditions, there is going to be lots of errors.
“It is how both sides adapt in the transitions which will have a big bearing on the result.”
In the past Wales have trained before World Cup campaigns in both Switzerland and Turkey, where at times temperatures were extreme. However, for a lot of Matt Sherratt’s 33-man squad they wouldn’t have experienced playing in such heat before.
That’s why prior to departing to the Land of the Rising Sun, at their training base at the Vale Resort, Wales were preparing for the conditions in a heat chamber.
Some players such as Josh Adams and Gareth Thomas lost three kilos during these gruelling training sessions, and they also did some small training sessions with a slippery ball which was dipped in water.
Back row, Aaron Wainwright also speaking at Tuesday’s press conference, said: “I think we’ve prepared well at home.
“Training has been hard so hopefully that puts us in good stead starting this weekend.
“I’ve been to Turkey and that’s one of the hottest environments I’ve been in.
“This is definitely right up there, especially humidity-wise. As soon you’re stepping outside, you’re borderline sweating straight away.
“It’s going to be tough, but hopefully the preparation we’ve done plays a big part on the weekend.”
