Japan women's national rugby union 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]

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.
Japan
Nickname(s)Cherry 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

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

Overall
See also: List of Japan women's national rugby union team matches
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 24 June 2024[13]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1  England096.90
2  Canada089.13
3  New Zealand088.96
4  France087.27
5  Australia078.36
6  Scotland075.99
7  United States074.57
8  Wales074.28
9  Italy074.26
10  Ireland073.53
11  Japan069.98
12  South Africa065.17
13  Spain065.15
14 1 Fiji061.19
15 1 Russia061.10
16  Netherlands058.98
17  Hong Kong058.76
18  Samoa058.48
19  Kazakhstan055.23
20  Sweden052.72
*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
Rugby World Cup
Year Round Position GP W D L PF PA
1991Plate quarter-finals12th 30030112
1994Shield 3rd play-off8th 510413293
1998Did not enter
200213th place play-off14th 42025895
2006Did not qualify
2010
2014
201711th place play-off11th 510487152
2021Pool stage — 3 0 0 3 30 92
Total 5/98th204016188744

Players

Recent Squad

Japan named their 26-player squad for the 2024 Asia Rugby Women's Championship.[14][15]

Player Position Date of Birth Club/Province
Sakurako Hatada Forward (2003-05-08) 8 May 2003 Nippon Sport Science University
Sachiko Kato Forward (2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Wako Kitano Forward (2000-09-08) 8 September 2000 MIE Pearls
Haruna Kojima Forward (2001-03-05) 5 March 2001 Yokohama TKM
Sakurako Korai Forward (2003-04-09) 9 April 2003 Nippon Sport Science University
Asuka Kuge Forward (2000-11-28) 28 November 2000 Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Miharu Machida Forward (2004-05-26) 26 May 2004 Japan University of Economics
Manami Mine Forward (2003-09-11) 11 September 2003 Nippon Sport Science University
Ayano Nagai Forward (1997-10-14) 14 October 1997 Yokohama TKM
Iroha Nagata Forward (1998-12-21) 21 December 1998 Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Nijiho Nagata Forward (2000-12-06) 6 December 2000 MIE Pearls
Mio Nishimura Forward (2002-11-29) 29 November 2002 Nippon Sport Science University
Yuna Sato Forward (1998-09-11) 11 September 1998 Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Kotomi Taniguchi Forward (1995-04-10) 10 April 1995 Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Otoka Yoshimura Forward (2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Megumi Abe Back (1998-04-28) 28 April 1998 Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Nao Ando Back (2001-07-17) 17 July 2001 Brave Louve
Mana Furuta Back (1997-11-16) 16 November 1997 Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Haruka Hirotsu Back (2000-10-29) 29 October 2000 Nanairo Prism Fukuoka
Komachi Imakugi Back (2002-01-06) 6 January 2002 Arukas Queen Kumagaya
Mele Yua Havili Kagawa Back (2001-09-29) 29 September 2001 Nanairo Prism Fukuoka
Sora Nishimura Back (2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 MIE Pearls
Ayasa Otsuka Back (1999-05-05) 5 May 1999 RKU Rugby Ryugasaki Grace
Anan Seo Back (2001-07-16) 16 July 2001 Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix
Moe Tsukui Back (2000-03-28) 28 March 2000 Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars
Kotono Yasuo Back (2001-10-02) 2 October 2001 Brave Louve

Previous Squads

See also

References
  1. 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. 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 24 June 2024.
  14. "Sakura Fifteen's 26-member squad". Asia Rugby. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  15. "Japan Squad Announced for Asia Rugby Women's Championship 2024". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.