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Wales captain Dewi Lake says players who do not perform in Japan are at risk of being shelved by the next coaching team.
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Interim head coach Matt Sherratt is in charge again for the two-Test series in the Far East having taken over from Warren Gatland during the Six Nations Championship in February.
The Welsh Rugby Union’s hunt for a permanent successor to Gatland remains ongoing, with new director of rugby Dave Reddin taking up the search since his appointment.
Lake says that is nothing to concern Sherratt’s squad as Wales seek to end an abysmal run of 17 consecutive Test defeats, but the Ospreys hooker accepts the series could have significant ramifications.
“We know the job we’ve got to do with the task at hand,” Lake said.
“That’s not to think about what’s down the line. If we go out there and don’t do a job, we might not be here for the next round of coaches.
“There’s no point in worrying or dwelling on that. It’s not our decision to make.
“We’ve got no say in the matter. We can just focus on the rugby and the task at hand, which is to win a Test match.”
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Wales take on Eddie Jones’ Japan on the back of a second successive Six Nations whitewash.
The game has been in disarray at both club and international level for some time – and Wales have slumped down the world rankings to 12th, only one place above Japan.
“It’s massive, there’s business to be done,” Lake said of a series which gets under way in Kitakyushu on Saturday, July 5 and concludes in Kobe a week later.
“We’re by no means underestimating the edge they’re going to bring. They’re a dangerous side and caused a lot of upsets in very recent memory.
“They’re playing on home soil so I’m sure they’ll take a lot of confidence in that.
“This group has a job to do on the back of a big losing run.”
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Lake has taken over the captaincy, with Ospreys team-mate Jac Morgan on British and Irish Lions duty in Australia.
It is a role Lake is familiar with having led Wales during the tour of Australia and the Autumn Nations Series in 2024, insisting there is extra responsibility that comes with leading the team overseas.
He said: “You’re there for quite a bit of time, so immersing yourself in the culture and getting to know the area helps.
“When we were in Australia, we had the ‘Welcome to Country rituals’ where someone would come to training and talk about their experiences. The land and the ground we were stood on.
“That resonates when you’re a group in a foreign country. When you realise what it means to other people, you can turn that around into a positive for yourselves.”
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