KNOWPIA
WELCOME TO KNOWPIA
Japan women's national rugby union team 
Summary
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]
| Nickname(s) | Cherry Blossom 15 (桜十五 (kanji), さくらフィフティーン (kana), Sakura fifutīn) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Japan Rugby Football Union | ||
| Head coach | Lesley McKenzie | ||
| Captain | Saki Minami | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 11 (as of 4 September 2023) | ||
| Highest | 10 (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 | |||
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1991) | ||
| Best result | 8th (1994) | ||
History edit
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 edit
Overall edit
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 England |
96.18 |
| 2 | |
 New Zealand |
90.56 |
| 3 | |
France |
88.00 |
| 4 | |
 Canada |
86.27 |
| 5 | |
 Australia |
81.61 |
| 6 | |
 Italy |
76.50 |
| 7 | |
 Scotland |
75.80 |
| 8 | |
 Wales |
73.41 |
| 9 | |
United States |
72.57 |
| 10 | |
 Ireland |
72.35 |
| 11 | |
Japan |
69.38 |
| 12 | |
 South Africa |
65.17 |
| 13 | |
 Spain |
65.15 |
| 14 | |
 Russia |
61.10 |
| 15 | |
 Samoa |
59.57 |
| 16 | |
 Netherlands |
58.98 |
| 17 | |
 Fiji |
58.65 |
| 18 | |
Hong Kong |
58.31 |
| 19 | |
 Kazakhstan |
55.97 |
| 20 | |
 Sweden |
52.72 |
| *Change from the previous week | |||
(Full internationals only)
See Women's international rugby for information about the status of international games and match numbering
| 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 edit
| 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 |
| Total | 5/9 | 8th | 20 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 188 | 744 |
Players edit
Recent Squad edit
Japan named their 30-player squad for the inaugural WXV 2 tournament in Cape Town between 13 – 28 October.[14][15]
| Player | Position | Date of Birth | Caps | Club/Province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinata Komaki | Hooker | 28 December 2000 | 11 | Nippon Sport Science University |
| Asuka Kuge | Hooker | 28 November 2000 | 5 | Arukas Queen Kumagaya |
| Manami Mine | Hooker | 14 August 1997 | 1 | Nippon Sport Science University |
| Nijiho Nagata | Hooker | 6 December 2000 | 13 | International Budo University |
| Kotomi Taniguchi | Hooker | 12 June 1999 | 10 | Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars |
| Natsuki Kashiwagi | Prop | 4 April 2001 | new cap | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix |
| Sachiko Kato | Prop | 19 February 2000 | 19 | Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars |
| Yuka Sadaka | Prop | 13 March 1996 | 17 | Hirosaki Sakura Ovals |
| Masami Kawamura | Lock | 28 November 1999 | 8 | RKU Rugby Ryugasaki Grace |
| Jennifer Nduka | Lock | 31 December 1992 | 2 | Hokkaido Barbarians Diana |
| Otoka Yoshimura | Lock | 19 June 1998 | 12 | Arukas Queen Kumagaya |
| Sakurako Korai | Back Row | 17 April 1999 | 6 | Nippon Sport Science University |
| Ayano Nagai | Back Row | 14 October 1997 | 18 | Yokohama TKM |
| Iroha Nagata | Back Row | 19 May 1997 | 24 | Arukas Queen Kumagaya |
| Mio Nishimura | Back Row | 18 October 2000 | 3 | Nippon Sport Science University |
| Seina Saito | Back Row | 14 October 1997 | 37 | MIE Pearls |
| Mei Yoshimoto | Back Row | 28 November 1995 | 1 | Otemon University |
| Sakurako Hatada | Forward | 29 January 1996 | 1 | Nippon Sport Science University |
| Megumi Abe | Scrumhalf | 28 November 1998 | 17 | Arukas Queen Kumagaya |
| Moe Tsukui | Scrumhalf | 28 March 2000 | 27 | Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars |
| Ayasa Otsuka | Fly-Half | 23 March 2000 | 18 | RKU Rugby Ryugasaki Grace |
| Minori Yamamoto | Fly-Half | 9 December 1996 | 25 | Worcester Warriors |
| Kanako Kobayashi | Centre | 13 November 1998 | 9 | Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars |
| Mana Furuta | Centre | 16 November 1997 | 22 | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix |
| Komachi Imakugi | Wing | 24 November 2002 | 17 | Arukas Queen Kumagaya |
| Sora Nishimura | Fullback | 30 November 2002 | 5 | MIE Pearls |
| Nao Ando | Back | 28 November 2002 | 3 | Brave Louve |
| Haruka Hirotsu | Back | 29 October 2000 | 3 | Nanairo Prism Fukuoka |
| Misaki Matsumura | Back | 11 December 2000 | 2 | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix |
| Kotono Yasuo | Back | 21 February 1998 | 6 | Brave Louve |
Previous Squads edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Japan and Hong Kong qualify for Women's World Cup". Asia Rugby. 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Japan's women crowned Asian champions for first time". World Rugby.org. 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Qualify for Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Set to Take on Wales". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Confirmed to Play Ireland on European Tour". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Japan Team Announced to Take on Scotland". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ "Japan Team Announced to Take on Ireland". Japan Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Sands, Katie (2021-11-08). "Wales beat Japan 23-5 in autumn opener as Joyce scores two tries". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ "Scotland Women 36 Japan Women 12". Scottish Rugby Union. 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Japan women finish tour of Australia unbeaten". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
- ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Squad Announced for Inaugural WXV 2". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "WXV 2: Anticipation builds for South Africa as squads named". www.world.rugby. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
External links edit
- Japan RFU Official English page
- Japan Times Articles by Rich Freeman - Japan Times rugby correspondent until 2005, then at the Daily Yomiuri
- Japan RFU - in Japanese
- Japanese rugby union news from Planet Rugby Archived 2005-10-31 at the Wayback Machine