Japan Test Stars Head Overseas to Experience Rugby Life Abroad
Members of Japan’s National Women’s Team, the Sakura Fifteen have been heading abroad to experience life and rugby outside of Japan for some years now. In recent seasons, players like Ayaka Suzuki (Wasps) and Sachiko Kato (Exeter Chiefs) played Premiership Women’s Rugby in England, while Makoto Lavemai and Mana Furuta played in Canberra for the Brumbies, in Australia’s Super W competition.
The trend will continue in 2024 with four Sakura Fifteen test stars, with a cumulative 96 test-caps of experience between them, set to play their club rugby in England and New Zealand. Leading the pack is Seina Saito, Japan’s most capped player who will join the Chiefs Manawa in Hamilton, New Zealand for the 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season.
The 40-test veteran, who plays at hooker and across the backrow will reunite with Chiefs’ Head Coach, Crystal Kaua who coached Saito’s Japanese club side, the Mie PEARLS from 2018 to 2022. Having met in New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup in 2022, Chrystal suggested that Saito might consider coming to New Zealand to play at the Chiefs. Saito, already familiar with New Zealand having spent a half year in Christchurch after graduating university, decided it was an opportunity too good to pass up and committed to joining the team ahead of their 2024 pre-season.
“There are two reasons why I want to play in New Zealand. Firstly, I want to open a new door for Japanese players as nobody has played in this competition before. Hopefully it inspires others to follow and helps to build up the players who will lead Japanese rugby in the future. Secondly, I’m really motivated to reconnect with Crystal, who coached me at the PEARLS. I can learn so much more from her, I want to learn new skills and improve myself,” said Saito on her move to Hamilton.
“On the field I am really looking forward to playing rugby with top-level players, including many Black Ferns. I want to experience what it’s like to play alongside and against these great players. Off the field, I would love the opportunity to learn about Māori culture and I want to see how Kiwis work towards building a team, how they communicate and how they spend their time off the field. I think it’s really different from how we do things in Japan, so I want to understand this better and maybe bring some of that experience back to Japanese women’s rugby.”
Minori Yamamoto ©JRFU 
Kie Tamai ©JRFU
The three other members of the Sakura Fifteen playing their club rugby abroad this year are currently playing in England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby. Flyhalf, Minori Yamamoto (28-caps) has this year joined the Sale Sharks following her two seasons with Worcester Warriors in the west of England, while 16-cap utility forward, Kie Tamai has joined the Ealing Trailfinders in London.
Kanako Kobayashi, the 25-year-old, hard-running centre with 12 national team caps has also returned to the Exeter Chiefs in the south-west of England for her second season. She first came to the Devon based club in 2021/22 but missed the entire 2022/23 season due to injury. Kobayashi continues the strong connection between the Sakura Fifteen and Exeter following front-row forward, Sachiko Kato’s successful season at the club in 2021.
Kanako Kobayashi ©JRFU 
Sachiko Kato ©JRFU
“Having key players experience club rugby overseas is hugely important for the growth of the women’s game here in Japan,” commented Akane Kagawa, JRFU Director of Women’s Rugby. “Not only do they bring their playing experience back to their clubs and to the national team, they also grow in terms of their leadership ability, their communication skills and their international rugby network. Japanese women can make a positive and important contribution to our global game, not just as players, but also as administrators, referees, and leaders. The opportunity to experience rugby life outside of Japan is a really important part of developing our women to play a greater role in the world of rugby.”
