Tuipulotu Back in Tokyo as Wales Beat Japan 17-0

Wales beat Japan 17-0 in Tokyo on Saturday, in the first of two Tests between the sides in the WXV Global Series, the women's international tournament. The match was played at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium and kicked off at 18:30 local time.

For one Wales player, the trip carried a personal weight. Sisilia Tuipulotu, a 23-year-old tight-head prop (one of the two front-row forwards who push against the opposition in the scrum), lived in Tokyo for three years as a child. BBC Sport reports that she went to Little Angels international school while there. Her father, Sione, was a back, one of the players who run and pass outside the scrum, and he played in Japan for Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars between 2006 and 2010 after leaving Dragons in Wales.

Saturday was her first time back in Japan since those childhood years. She started for Wales and played 78 minutes, which earned her 39th cap. A cap is one appearance for your country, so that is a sizeable total for someone still in her early twenties. She has also just switched clubs, moving from Gloucester-Hartpury to Harlequins.

Head coach Ioan Cunningham made three changes to the side for this match, and Tuipulotu's start was one of them. She had already been on the scoresheet earlier in the series, scoring two tries in Wales' win over South Africa.

The points came from Seren Lockwood, who scored two tries, and Kelsey Jones, who added one. Wales also gave a debut-style moment to the Metcalfe sisters. Branwen Metcalfe started a capped international alongside her sister Nel for the first time, and the two of them, plus Gwenllian Pyrs and Elan Jones, all come from the Welsh club Nant Conwy. Branwen partnered Jorja Aiono in the second row, the tall forwards who lock the scrum and win much of the ball in the lineout (the set piece where players are thrown up to catch the ball), and the pair had 15 caps between them.

Japan had a chance to respond on home soil, and Wales now move on to the second Test, which is scheduled for Kumagaya. For Tuipulotu, the result was one thing. The game in the city where she grew up was another, and it seems to have meant a great deal to her.