Sakura Fifteen Ready for First Test Against South Africa in Kamaishi

Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has today announced the Sakura Fifteen team to take on South Africa in the first of their two test matches, this Sunday, July 24 at the iconic Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium, as part of the Taiyoseimei Japan Rugby Challenge Series 2022.  

The four-match series will see Japan host both South Africa and Ireland for two test matches and marks a welcome return to playing at home for the Sakura Fifteen who haven’t played in Japan since the Women’s Asia Rugby Championship in July 2017.

This weekend will also be the first time for the Sakura Fifteen to play a test match at Kamaishi’s picturesque waterfront stadium, one of the venues for Rugby World Cup 2019. Located on the north-east coast of Japan’s main island, Kamaishi is considered one of Japan’s historic rugby heartlands.

The Sakura Fifteen will be captained by loosehead prop Saki Minami who will earn her 22^nd test for Japan. The team will also see three debutants in line to win their first test caps with Mikasa Isogai starting on the right wing, and lock Masami Kawamura and loose forward Sakurako Korai, both named on the reserves bench. With Japan currently ranked 12^th in world, just in front of the 13^th placed South Africans, the match will provide an excellent opportunity for both teams as they prepare for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Sakura Fifteen Head Coach, Lesley McKenzie commented:

“We’re expecting South Africa to come with a physical game plan. They have some big ball carriers and players who like to make big defensive tackles, so we will be looking to move the ball much like we did against Fiji and Australia. There are not too many teams out there that are smaller and faster than us, so rather than adapt or modify, we want to implement our game plan and shape the game via the style of rugby we want to play.”

The match kicks off at 14:45 JST and will be telecast in Japan from 14:30 JST on J Sports Two and available for streaming on J Sports On-Demand.

In addition to Sunday’s match, the Taiyosemai Japan Rugby Challenge Series 2022 will see the Sakura Fifteen play South Africa for a second time at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium on Saturday, July 30. They will then host Ireland at Shizuoka ECOPA Stadium on Saturday, August 20, and again, one week later at Tokyo’s historic Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium on Saturday, August 27.

The series will see all four matches played at some of Japan’s most iconic rugby stadiums, all with their own unique history. Kamaishi, Kumagaya and Shizuoka were all Rugby World Cup 2019 venues, while Chichibunomiya is considered the spiritual home of Japanese rugby.

Team List:

No.	Name	Club Team	cm	kg	D・O・B	Caps
1	Saki MINAMI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	163	70	1995/11/18	21
2	Nijiho NAGATA	nternational Budo Univ.	162	79	2000/12/6	4
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	166	80	1999/9/8	4
4	Kie TAMAI	MIE PEARLS	168	78	1992/10/24	9
5	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA/Rissho Univ.	174	83	2001/5/15	2
6	Seina SAITO	MIE PEARLS	164	72	1992/5/30	27
7	Iroha NAGATA	UMAGAYA	167	70	1998/12/21	12
8	Sora KONISHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	168	85	2000/2/21	4
9	Megumi ABE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	147	53	1998/4/28	6
10	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA/Rissho Univ.	158	62	2002/1/6	6
11	Hinano NAGURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	170	75	1997/3/22	7
12	Shione NAKAYAMA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	166	70	1999/1/18	4
13	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	167	69	1997/11/16	11
14	Mikasa ISOGAI	Nagato Blue Angels	165	66	1995/11/12	–
15	Rinka MATSUDA	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	170	75	2001/12/5	2
16	Makoto LAVEMAI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	163	70	1997/7/2	13
17	Misaki SUZUKI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	164	66	1992/4/9	27
18	Yuka SADAKA	Hirosaki sakura ovals	167	91	1994/11/2	8
19	Masami KAWAMURA	RKU GRACE	173	70	1999/7/13	–
20	Ayano NAGAI	YOKOHAMA TKM	168	84	1997/10/14	6
21	Kotono YASUO	BRAVE LOUVE	156	61	2001/10/2	1
22	Minori YAMAMOTO	MIE PEARLS	169	72	1996/12/9	17
23	Sakurako KORAI	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	167	67	2003/4/9	–