Australia 56-17 Japan: Wallabies seal series as 1,000th cap recipient scores on debut
Australia wrap up two-Test series win with eight-try victory over Eddie Jones’ Japan; Japan remain winless against Wallabies in nine Tests, stretching back to 1975; watch the entire South Africa vs New Zealand Test series live on Sky Sports from August 22
Saturday 15 August 2026 10:06, UK
Australia completed a 2-0 series sweep of Japan with a 56-17 victory in Townsville, in which Massimo De Lutiis marked becoming the 1,000th player capped by the Wallabies in style.
Prop Taniela Tupou scored a double before his replacement, De Lutiis, scored on debut to mark becoming the 1,000th Wallaby with his first international try.
Six of Australia's eight tries were scored by front-row forwards, with hooker Josh Nasser, loosehead Angus Bell and replacement hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa all getting on the scoresheet.
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Flanker Charlie Cale and skipper Harry Wilson chipped in with late scores, while scrum-half Ryan Lonergan and replacement fly-half Ben Donaldson combined to kick all eight conversions.
Japan scored first-half tries through Harry Hockings, Naoto Saito and Dylan Riley but were kept pointless after the break as their losing streak against Australia, which dates back to 1975, extended to nine Tests.
Australia took an early lead twice via tries from Josh Nasser and Tupou, but Saito and Ryunosuke Ito supplied quick ball to regularly expose holes in the Wallabies defence as Japan rallied both times.
Lock Hockings charged down a poor attempted exit from Lonergan at the base of a ruck and dived on the ball in goal, while Saito took a quick-tap penalty and darted over from close range.
Japan took the lead in the 33rd minute through Australian-born Dylan Riley, who beat two tackles and reached over for a try, but Australia hit back before the break via a line-out move from which Tupou crashed over.
De Lutiis came on in the 50th minute to replace veteran prop Tupou, who barged over for two first-half tries, and was on the shoulder of Angus Bell a minute later as his fellow front-rower scored to give Australia a 26-17 lead.
De Lutiis scored himself in the 58th minute, backing up in support at the perfect time after an Australian attacking raid that started with fly-half Carter Gordon breaking the defensive line and running 30 metres towards the right corner flag.
That try and a conversion from scrum-half Ryan Lonergan, his fifth, gave Australia an 18-point cushion with 20 minutes remaining after a tightly contested first half in which Japan's surprising line speed in defence and enterprising, relentless attack unsettled the Wallabies.
Three late tries helped the Wallabies turn a 21-17 half-time lead into a 39-point victory, giving the Australians a three-match winning streak for the first time since 2024.
The Wallabies beat Italy last month in the Nations Championship in Joe Schmidt's last match as head coach, before a 35-32 win over Japan in Osaka last weekend in Les Kiss' first game in charge.
