It's not just Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt who is sweating on the results of his side ahead of the two-Test summer series in Japan.
Eddie Jones saw his Brave Blossoms lose 53-20 to the Maori All Blacks in Tokyo in their final run-out before tackling Dewi Lake's side in Kitakyushu and Kobe over the next two weekends.
The visitors were still smarting from their first defeat to the Japanese a year earlier, 26-14 in Toyota City, and dominated proceedings late on in the Chichibunomiya Stadium in Tokyo.
They scored nine tries in all, five without reply in the final 30 minutes.
The uncapped fixture kicked-off at 6.00pm local time, whereas the two games against Wales will be afternoon starts when the heat and humidity will be even more extreme.
It was Japan’s fourth fixture this year after having already faced New Zealand Universities twice, followed by a one-off match against Hong Kong China.
While they posted solid victories in all three of their previous matches, they came unstuck against a powerful Maori side that will face Scotland next weekend in Whangarei.
Eddie Jones only selected seven players who started in the win over Hong Kong China and handed the captaincy to 13-times capped back row Kanji Shimokawa.
The home side got off to a flying start with the first of two tries from wing Kazuma Ueda.
They led 10-0 before the Maoris hit back with two tries. Ueda’s second in the 31st minute, converted by the highly impressive outside half Sam Greene, made it 17-10 before a third Maori try made it a two point game at the break.
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Having never been behind in the game up to the interval the Japanese found themselves chasing the game after the Maoris conjured up a try two minutes after the re-start to hit the front 22-17.
To add to the home side’s problems they lost hooker Hayate Eza to the sin-bin for 10 minutes for head contact in a tackle.
The final half-hour belonged entirely to the New Zealanders as they turned on the style and piled on the points.
Next up will be Dewi Lake’s Wales who are seeking to end a run of 17 straight Test defeats.
