Australia beat Japan 35-32 in an international friendly on Friday 8 August 2026. The visitors held on for a narrow win after a hard-fought contest.
Japan had looked dangerous in their recent run, losing just one of their last five matches before this game. They came into the fixture after a 27-10 victory over Italy and a 20-36 defeat to Ireland.
Australia brought more firepower to the table on paper. Their last outing was a 57-10 demolition of Italy, and they had bounced back from a 26-42 loss to France with a 31-33 defeat of Ireland.
By then the match was already decided in Australia's favour. Japan pushed hard but could not find an answer to the visitors' attacking threat.
The result extends Australia's momentum from their recent campaigns, while Japan will look to build on what they showed in this encounter.