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Die-hard support: Wales need a massive win for their fans
Japan travel to the home of Welsh rugby at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for their Pool B encounter against Wales - a team desperate to make things right.
The critics have had the daggers out for Wales coach Gareth Jenkins and his team their critics ever since the hugely hyped and eagerly-anticipated World Cup showdown with Australia was over by half-time.
What was supposed to be the defining 80 minutes of Jenkins' reign as Wales coach, ended with the Wallabies walking away comfortable 32-20 winners on Saturday.
And to make matters worse, it was a defeat in front of 75, 000 die-hard Welsh supporters. So much for home advantage!
As a result, Wales now have two must-win games lined up against Japan and Fiji with a quarter-final looming against South Africa, as opposed to a frail-looking England team.
After naming his side to face Japan, the Wales coach issued a stinging rebuke to the critics claiming they are out of touch with reality.
"We just don't understand what the hell is going on. There are a lot of personal issues out there, there are a lot of personal agendas,'' said Jenkins.
"Our press is personalising everything at the moment and is not behind us. That is disappointing.
"There is a real negativity around in Wales about our performances. If people have a good look at our performance against Australia, we made a real game of it and we are not in bad shape."
If that wasn't enough, earlier this week Jenkins was angered by suggestions a rift had developed in the camp after senior players Martyn Williams and Stephen Jones declared the need for a tactical review after the Australia game.
The Welsh management moved quickly to clarify that all tactical decisions are made jointly between the players and coaching staff. Jones and Williams were giving the players' point of view.
It's very easy to point the finger at the person in charge, but Jenkins - in all his defence - cannot deny the fact that his record since taking over the Welsh reigns does not look pretty: played 18, won five, drawn one, lost 12.
One now surely has to question Jenkins' ability to keep the Grand Slam champions from thrilling the rugby world just like they did in 2005.
His cause was not helped against Canada either after his troops were left trailing 9-17 after 50 minutes, and had to rely on old heads in the form of Gareth Thomas, Colin Charvis and Stephen Jones to save the day. The same couldn't be said against Australia, and the reliable trio had a bad day at the office that the veterans would have preferred to call in sick for.
But alas, Thursday brings a new team packed once again with a pool of talent to lift the team's spirit against opposition that have already won the hearts of the Rugby World Cup public.
Jenkins, hamstrung by a five-day turnaround and the loss of centres Gareth Thomas and Sonny Parker to injury, has gone on to make ten changes from the Australia game to face the brave Japanese.
Japan were never given any hope heading into their sixth straight World Cup with coach John Kirwan getting behind his team with the motto to "believe" in themselves - something the Wales squad should also probably go by.
Japan's battering against the Wallabies was always coming, however it was an understrength Japanese line-up and Kirwan has stuck - minus one change - with the same bunch that took Fiji all the way six days ago.
The Cherry Blossoms will be gutted not to have pulled out a victory against the Islanders, and the dream of coming away from France with two wins is now on thin ice indeed after the dramatic 31-35 loss in Toulouse.
Japan also have a mighty ghost in the closet as on a Friday night in late November 2004 at this very ground, Wales ran free in a 98-0 massacre of Japan. This followed on the heels of a 100-8 thrashing by Scotland on the same tour.
This disastrous tour is burned into the memories of Japanese rugby and a return to the scene of the carnage will not be pleasant.
The tour was the beginning of the end for then coach Mitsutake Hagimoto who had two French assistant coaches forced on him for the following season, with Jean-Pierre Elissalde taking over the reigns in late 2005.
Prop Tatsukichi Nishiura made his debut from the bench that day but was not seen again in national colours for another two years. Nishiura for one will be playing to get the bogeyman off his back.
And if Wales have done their homework, they will know that the Japanese pack should not be taken lightly, with captain and number eight Takuro Miuchi leading his forward warriors with zest.
The Fijians - although never a force in the forwards stakes - were nevertheless put on the backfoot against Japan and conceded two of their tries from line-outs and drives from the Cherry Blossoms.
Having produced an entertaining display against the Islanders in one of the closest matches of the 2007 tournament so far, Thursday's match should hopefully be an exciting affair.
Wales will need to put their past performances behind them and notch up a convincing win against Japan in order to have the confidence intact heading into their decisive Pool B match against Fiji - with the Pool runners-up spot most likely at stake.
Wales and Japan have met on eleven previous occasions with Wales winning the lot. This will be the third time the two sides have met at a Rugby World Cup with Wales winning 57-10 at Bloemfontein in 1995 and again 64-15 at the Millennium Stadium in 1999.
Players to Watch:
For Wales: It's true when they say dynamite comes in small packages. In the world of ever-increasingly bigger and bulkier backs, winger Shane Williams continues to defy the trend and prove that there is still a place in the outside backs for the smaller guys in the modern game. Standing at 1.71m (171cm) tall, Williams makes up for his size with electrifying pace and a sidestep that keeps opposition chasing shadows. He's never shy to back away from the physical stuff either and made some bone-crunching tackles against the Wallabies five days ago. Williams boasts a Welsh record of 14 tries - four in one match - against the Japanese and will be looking to go one better on Thursday. Oh, and it will be his 50th appearance in a Wales jersey.
Also be sure to keep an eye out in the second row for 22-year-old Ian Evans who will be waiting with baited breath to get a run off the replacements bench. The lock has not played a minute's rugby since suffering a dislocated shoulder scoring a try for the Ospreys on December 28 that required reconstructive surgery. He had been due to return to action against England in Wales' first warm-up Test but damaged his collarbone in training and was forced back into rehab again.
For Japan: Luke Thompson will be looking for another big performance after scoring two superb tries against Fiji in Japan's close 31-35 loss in Toulouse. The New Zealand-born lock showed deceptive pace when he dummied the entire Fijian backline to race 22 metres for his first touchdown, and equalled pace with power when he crashed over for his second. A key member in the line-out, Thompson was responsible for a few steals against the Islanders - an area the Welsh have been struggling with of late.
Head to head: Alix Popham (Wales) v Takuro Miuchi (Japan). Both number eights have an extremely high work rate and are - at most times - a handful to keep under lock and key. Popham makes his return after having been benched for the clash against Australia and will want to make coach Gareth Jenkins rue that decision. There no doubt that Wales will use Popham's strength to break the Japanese defenders down and put his weight in the scrums and rolling mauls to good use. Miuchi is no shrinking violet and Japan will be hoping for similar tactics from their inspirational number eight, who is also used as a key jumper in their line-out.
Previous Results:
2004: Wales won 98-0 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2001: Wales won 53-30 at Prince Chichibu Stadium, Tokyo
2001: Wales won 64-10 at Hanazono Stadium, Osaka
1999: Wales won 64-15 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (RWC)
1995: Wales won 57-10 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein (RWC)
1993: Wales won 55-5 at Cardiff Arms Park
1983: Wales won 29-24 in Cardiff
1976: Wales won 63-9 in Swansea
1975: Wales won 82-6 in Tokyo
1975: Wales won 56-12 in Tokyo
1973: Wales won 62-14 in Cardiff
Prediction: Taking on Wales at home will be a daunting task for Japan that should prove a mountain too difficult to climb. Wales will need to hold off the guillotine on their coach's head and produce a top class performance from every inch of the field in all areas of the game. Expect the Dragons to breath fire and not just smoke against Japan. Wales to win by 60 points.
The teams:
Wales: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Dafydd James, 13 Jamie Robinson, 12 James Hook, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones (c), 9 Michael Phillips, 8 Alix Popham, 7 Colin Charvis, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Will James, 3 Chris Horsman, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 1 Duncan Jones
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Gareth Cooper, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Tom Shanklin
Japan: 15 Christian Loamanu, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Bryce Robins, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Takuro Miuchi (c), 7 Philip O'Reilly, 6 Hare Makiri, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Soma Tomokazu, 2 Yuji Matsubara, 1 Tatsukishi Nishiura
Replacements: 16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Ryo Yamamura, 18 Takanori Kumagae, 19 Yasunori Watanabe, 20 Kim Chul-won, 21 Koji Taira, 22 Tatsuya Kusumi
Date: Thursday, September 20
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 20:00 (19:00 GMT)
Referee: Joël Jutge
Touch judges: Mark Lawrence, Craig Joubert
Television match official: Christophe Berdos
Assessor: Bob Francis
By Dave Morris
