Wikipedia

Japan women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Japan national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Japan women's national rugby sevens team.

The Japan women's national rugby union team (Ragubī joshi nihon daihyō (ラグビー女子日本代表), nicknamed Sakura Fifteen) are a national sporting side of Japan, representing them at rugby union. The side first played in 1991.[1]

Japan
NicknamesCherry Blossom 15 (桜十五 (kanji), さくらフィフティーン (kana), Sakura fifutīn)
UnionJapan Rugby Football Union
Head coachLesley McKenzie
CaptainSaki Minami
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current11 (as of 4 September 2023)
Highest10 (2023)
First international
 France 62–0 Japan 
(Aberavon, Wales; 6 April 1991)
Biggest win
 Japan 82–0 Hong Kong 
(Almaty, Kazakhstan; 4 September 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Japan 0–121 United States 
(Melrose, Scotland; 15 April 1994)
World Cup
Appearances5 (First in 1991)
Best result8th (1994)

History

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Japan made their international debut at the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup.[1] Since then, Japan has appeared at three other editions of the World Cup in 1994, 2002 and 2017.[2] The team has won the Asia Rugby Women's Championship in 2015,[3] 2016 and 2017.

Japan qualified for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand after a revision of Asia's qualification was made due to the global pandemic. As Asia's highest ranked team they qualified automatically for the tournament.[4]

In November 2021, Japan toured Europe and played test matches against Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[5][6][7][8] Wales defeated Japan 23–5, the Sakura's scoring their only try in the 77th minute with a missed conversion.[9] Scotland ran in six tries to give the Sakura's their second loss 36–12, at the DAM Health Stadium in Edinburgh.[10] Ireland down to 14 players pulled off an unlikely win to beat Japan 15–12.[11]

Japan toured Australia in 2022, they played and won matches against Australia, the Australian Barbarians, and Fiji.[12]

Records

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Overall

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See also: List of Japan women's national rugby union team matches
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 4 November 2024[13]
Rank Change* Team Points
1     England 097.56
2     Canada 089.31
3     New Zealand 088.64
4     France 085.11
5     Australia 078.10
6     Ireland 078.03
7     Scotland 076.82
8     Italy 074.75
9     United States 074.20
10     Wales 072.58
11     Japan 066.41
12     South Africa 066.18
13     Spain 065.42
14     Russia 061.10
15     Samoa 060.56
16     Netherlands 060.20
17     Fiji 059.14
18     Hong Kong 056.20
19     Kazakhstan 055.23
20     Sweden 052.72
*Change from the previous week

(Full internationals only)

See Women's international rugby for information about the status of international games and match numbering

Rugby: Japan internationals 1991-
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Win %
  Australia 2017 4 1 0 3 25%
  Canada 1994 2 0 0 2 0.00%
  Fiji 2016 2 2 0 0 100%
  France 1991 3 0 0 3 0.00%
  Hong Kong 1998 17 16 0 1 94.11%
  Ireland 1994 7 2 0 5 28.57%
  Italy 2002 4 0 1 3 0.00%
  Kazakhstan 2005 9 2 0 7 22.22%
  Netherlands 2002 2 1 0 1 50%
  New Zealand 2022 1 0 0 1 0.00%
  Samoa 2000 1 1 0 0 100%
  Scotland 2019 2 1 0 1 50%
  Singapore 2007 4 4 0 0 100%
  South Africa 2022 2 2 0 0 100%
  Spain 1991 3 1 0 2 33.33%
  Sweden 1991 2 1 0 1 50%
  United States 1994 2 0 0 2 0.00%
  Wales 2017 2 1 0 1 50%
Summary 1991 69 35 1 33 50.72%

Rugby World Cup

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Rugby World Cup
Year Round Position GP W D L PF PA
  1991 Plate quarter-finals 12th 3 0 0 3 0 112
  1994 Shield 3rd play-off 8th 5 1 0 4 13 293
  1998 Did not enter
  2002 13th place play-off 14th 4 2 0 2 58 95
  2006 Did not qualify
  2010
  2014
  2017 11th place play-off 11th 5 1 0 4 87 152
  2021 Pool stage — 3 0 0 3 30 92
  2025 Qualified
  2029 TBD
  2033
Total 5/9 8th 20 4 0 16 188 744
  Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place
* Tied placing † Best placing Home venue

Players

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Recent Squad

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The Sakura XV announced their 30-player squad on 4 September 2024 for the WXV 2 tournament.[14]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Megumi Abe Scrum-half (1998-04-28)28 April 1998 (aged 26) 25   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Komachi Imakugi Wing (2002-01-06)6 January 2002 (aged 22) 26   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Ayasa Otsuka Fly-half (1999-05-05)5 May 1999 (aged 25) 28   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Mele Yua Havili Kagawa Centre (2001-09-29)29 September 2001 (aged 22) 2   Nanairo Prism Fukuoka
Sachiko Kato Prop (2000-02-19)19 February 2000 (aged 24) 25   Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Masami Kawamura Second row (1999-07-13)13 July 1999 (aged 25) 16
Wako Kitano Prop (1999-09-08)8 September 1999 (aged 25) 15   Mie Pearls
Asuka Kuge Prop (1994-09-22)22 September 1994 (aged 30) 15   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Sakurako Korai Back row (2003-04-09)9 April 2003 (aged 21) 16   Nippon Sport Science University
Ayumu Kokaji Hooker (2000-11-24)24 November 2000 (aged 23) 8   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Kanako Kobayashi Centre (1998-11-13)13 November 1998 (aged 25) 14   Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Hinata Komaki Hooker (2001-05-09)9 May 2001 (aged 23) 17   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Seina Saito Back row (1992-05-30)30 May 1992 (aged 32) 44   Mie Pearls
Yuka Sadaka Prop (1994-11-02)2 November 1994 (aged 29) 20   Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Yuna Sato Second row (1998-09-11)11 September 1998 (aged 26) 17   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Anan Seo Scrum-half (2001-07-16)16 July 2001 (aged 23) 1   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Kotomi Taniguchi Hooker (1995-04-10)10 April 1995 (aged 29) 20   Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Moe Tsukui Scrum-half (2000-03-28)28 March 2000 (aged 24) 35   Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Ayano Nagai Back row (1997-10-14)14 October 1997 (aged 26) 26   Yokohama TKM
Iroha Nagata Back row (1998-12-21)21 December 1998 (aged 25) 34   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Nijiho Nagata Hooker (2000-12-06)6 December 2000 (aged 23) 23   Mie Pearls
Sora Nishimura Back (2000-09-29)29 September 2000 (aged 23) 14   Mie Pearls
Haruka Hirotsu Back (2000-10-29)29 October 2000 (aged 23) 10   Nanairo Prism Fukuoka
Mana Furuta Centre (1997-11-16)16 November 1997 (aged 26) 30   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Kyoko Hosokawa Back row (1999-07-08)8 July 1999 (aged 25) 13   Mie Pearls
Misaki Matsumura Back (2005-03-06)6 March 2005 (aged 19) 8   Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Manami Mine Forward (2003-09-11)11 September 2003 (aged 21) 7   Nippon Sport Science University
Minori Yamamoto Fly-half (1996-12-09)9 December 1996 (aged 27) 32   Yokohama TKM
Otoka Yoshimura Second row (2001-05-15)15 May 2001 (aged 23) 22   Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Jennifer Nduka Second row (2000-10-18)18 October 2000 (aged 23) 8   Hokkaido Barbarians Diana

Previous Squads

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b JRFU (April 8, 2004). "女子ラグビー15年の歴史 - 海外遠征と外国チーム招聘の記録｜日本ラグビーフットボール協会｜RUGBY：FOR ALL「ノーサイドの精神」を、日本へ、世界へ。" [15 years of Women rugby football - Visiting overseas and hosting international games | Japan Rugby Football Union | Rugby football : For All; propagate the spirit of "no sides" to Japan and to the World.]. www.rugby-japan.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  2. ^ "Japan and Hong Kong qualify for Women's World Cup". Asia Rugby. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  3. ^ "Japan's women crowned Asian champions for first time". World Rugby.org. 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Sakura Fifteen Qualify for Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  5. ^ "Sakura Fifteen Set to Take on Wales". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  6. ^ "Sakura Fifteen Confirmed to Play Ireland on European Tour". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  7. ^ "Japan Team Announced to Take on Scotland". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  8. ^ "Japan Team Announced to Take on Ireland". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  9. ^ Sands, Katie (2021-11-08). "Wales beat Japan 23-5 in autumn opener as Joyce scores two tries". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  10. ^ "Scotland Women 36 Japan Women 12". Scottish Rugby Union. 2021-11-14. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  11. ^ Doggett, Eamon (2021-11-20). "Ireland v Japan score recap: Ireland did deep with 14 players to pull off win". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  12. ^ "Japan women finish tour of Australia unbeaten". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  13. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Sakura Fifteen Squad Announced for Tour to Italy And South Africa". Japan Rugby Football Union. 4 September 2024. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
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