Not content with sweating their way through training, the Wallabies have been doing added sauna sessions as well as they prepare to counter Japan’s attempts to use heatwave conditions to their favour on Saturday.
The prediction about Japan’s tactics came as it emerged Hunter Paisami is set to win a recall to the Wallabies team at inside centre, replacing injured star Len Ikitau.
Ikitau was ruled out of the two-Test series against Japan after undergoing a minor ankle operation last month. It opens the door for Paisami, who started at No.12 in the Wallabies’ narrow win over Japan in Tokyo in October last year.
It was a rare opportunity for the 28-year-old, who was a regular for the Wallabies until Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s arrival in 2024 saw Ikitau shifted in one spot from No.13 to No.12. Ikitau won the John Eales medal in his new spot in 2025, and Paisami has played in only four Tests since.
The hard-nosed centre, who missed the July series with a knee injury, recently announced he is moving to Japan to play for the Shizuoka Blues Revs on a three-year deal, and this weekend will be a crucial chance for Paisami to persuade new Wallabies coach Les Kiss he will be worth selecting from offshore in the 2027 Rugby World Cup squad.
The Wallabies trained a full day in 35-degree heat at the modest home ground of lower-tier rugby side the JR West ‘Railers’ in Kobe.
Though the Wallabies have looked to play down the impact of the heatwave, Wallabies forward Rob Valetini revealed there had, in fact, been more planning going on around heat acclimatisation than first indicated.
Valetini said the players had been spending time in saunas to get their bodies adapted to the heat. The sauna sessions began in Sydney last week and have continued in the early days in Osaka, given players only had a light session on Monday.
“We’re just trying to get daily exposures to that. I don’t know if it’s working, today was pretty cooked, so we’ll see how we go,” Valetini laughed.
Sports science shows daily exposure (preferably with exercise) to high heat over a period of 8-14 days can help athletes acclimatise to heat by increasing blood plasma volume and changing sweat patterns and heart rate. It can also work as quickly as five days.
Eddie Jones’ Japan have been training in the extreme heat for the last few weeks, and are preparing in Tokyo before moving down to Osaka on Thursday.
The Brave Blossoms loom as a major threat to the Wallabies if only based on their form in July, when they beat Italy 27-10, and put up strong showings against Ireland and France. They only trailed by six points in the last ten minutes against Ireland, before the Irish pulled away for a 36-20 win. Ireland coach Andy Farrell conceded the score flattered them.
Japan’s frenetically up-tempo style is already a challenge to defend, but Jones will be loving the extra assistance of a heatwave, given it has the potential to further sap their southern visitors and expose defensive weakness.
“Japan are a team that love to play fast. We saw a few of their games against France and Ireland where they were taking quick taps, even in their half,” Valetini said.
“So we know that they want to play fast, and obviously, it’s quite hot here. We think that they’ll try to use that in their game plan and try to run us off our feet.
“It’ll be important for us to adapt to the weather here, and we have been doing that with our saunas daily and through training as well. Hopefully, we’re prepared well for the weekend.”
Japan have improved considerably since the Wallabies snuck home over them with a win last year. The Wallabies had rested stars and their form was slipping at that point, too, given they went on to not win a game in Europe. But Valetini said Australia took valuable lessons.
“They stick into it, and they stay in the fight. Last year we fell off a bit there, and with a team like Japan, they were able to pounce on that,” he said.
“They play fast, and last year they were able to get quick ball and get some tries against us because we weren’t communicating, or we just fell off a bit. Definitely a tough team, so we’re just going to have to be on our A-game this week.”
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Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
