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Japan

Nicknames	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
First colours Second colours
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)

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.

History

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

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

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

Records

Overall

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 rankings as of 25 November 2024

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

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

Recent Squad

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

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

See also

• Sport in Japan
• Japan national rugby union team

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. 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 25 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.

External links

• 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

v t e National sports teams of Japan
Men	A1GP American football Australian rules football Bandy Baseball U-18 Basketball U-17 U-19 3x3 U-23 3x3 Wheelchair Boxing Cricket U-19 Field hockey U-21 Floorball U-19 Football U-23 U-20 U-17 Futsal U-23 U-20 Beach soccer eFootball Cerebral palsy Goalball Gymnastics Handball MJ MY Ice hockey Junior U-18 Kabaddi Korfball Lacrosse Roller hockey Rugby league Rugby union 7s U-20 Wheelchair Softball U-19 Squash Tennis Volleyball U-21 U-19 Water polo
Women	Baseball Basketball U-19 U-17 3x3 U-23 3x3 Wheelchair Beach handball Cricket Field hockey U-21 Floorball Football U-23 U-20 U-17 Futsal Goalball Gymnastics Handball W-J Ice hockey F U-18 Rugby union 7s Softball U-18 Squash Tennis Volleyball U-23 U-21 U-19 Water polo
Mixed	Badminton Baseball5 Boxing Tennis Wheelchair handball
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• Japan women's national rugby union team
• Rugby union teams in Japan
• Asian national women's rugby union teams
• 1991 establishments in Japan
• Rugby clubs established in 1991