Sakura Fifteen Squad Announced for Tour to Italy And South Africa
History is set to repeat itself in 2024, with the Sakura Fifteen once again heading to Italy for a one-off test match against Le Azzurre, before traveling onto South Africa for the second addition of World Rugby’s WXV 2 in Cape Town. While the Sakura Fifteen will be looking for a repeat of their 24-25 victory over Italy, last year in Parma, they will be desperate to improve upon their one win from three matches at last year’s WXV2.
Drawn this year against WXV2 hosts South Africa, as well as Six Nations stalwarts Scotland and Wales, Japan will be under no illusion of the challenge that awaits them. After hosting the USA Women’s Eagles over summer in which they drew their first match 17-17 and narrowly lost the return match 8-11, the Sakura Fifteen will depart Japan quietly confident that they can continue building on their test match success of recent seasons.
The 30-member squad will depart Japan for Italy on September 7 ahead of their test match on Saturday, September 14 at Stadio Walter Beltrametti in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, a one-hour drive, south-east of Milan. The match kicks off at 14:00 local Italian time (21:00 JST), with broadcast details to be announced in due course.
Following their match against Le Azzurre, Japan depart for Cape Town to begin preparations for their opening WXV2 match against South Africa on Friday, September 27 at 16:00 local South African time (23:00 JST). Japan then face Scotland on Saturday, October 5 at 14:00 local time (21:00 JST) and Wales on Friday, October 11 at 16:00 local time (23:00 JST).
Their match against South Africa will take place at the iconic DHL Stadium, a stunning, 55,000 capacity venue located in central Cape Town. Matches two and three will be held at Athlone Sports Stadium, just outside of central Cape Town.
Fans looking to catch the action from South Africa, along with all the WXV1 and WXV3 matches taking place in Canada and Dubai respectively, will be delighted that the entire tournament will be broadcast on RugbyPass TV, World Rugby’s global streaming platform.
Japan Women’s National Team Squad for Italy and South Africa Tours
| Name | Team | Company | Height(cm) | Weight(kg) | DOB | Cap |
| Megumi ABE | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | RDC Co.,Ltd. | 147 | 55 | 1998/4/28 | 25 |
| Komachi IMAKUGI | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | OKINAYA Co.,Ltd. | 158 | 60 | 2002/1/6 | 25 |
| Ayasa OTSUKA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Inose Logistics Service Co., Ltd. | 163 | 65 | 1999/5/5 | 27 |
| Mele Yua Havili KAGAWA | Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA | CellSource Co., Ltd. | 171 | 75 | 2001/9/29 | 1 |
| Sachiko KATO | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | SECOM CO., LTD. | 164 | 90 | 2000/2/19 | 24 |
| Masami KAWAMURA | – | － | 173 | 75 | 1999/7/13 | 15 |
| Wako KITANO | MIE PEARLS | Sumitomo Wiring Systems | 167 | 92 | 1999/9/8 | 14 |
| Asuka KUGE | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Goto Hygine Consultant | 164 | 78 | 1994/9/22 | 14 |
| Sakurako KORAI | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 168 | 73 | 2003/4/9 | 15 |
| Ayumu KOKAJI | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | OSP HOLDINGS CO., LTD. | 160 | 80 | 2000/11/24 | 8 |
| Kanako KOBAYASHI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | Shonan Kamakura General Hospital | 164 | 68 | 1998/11/13 | 14 |
| Hinata KOMAKI | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Sankyu Inc. | 165 | 78 | 2001/5/9 | 16 |
| Seina SAITO | MIE PEARLS | Eiwatech Co.,Ltd. | 164 | 72 | 1992/5/30 | 44 |
| Yuka SADAKA | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | Kansai Automation Co., LTD. | 167 | 100 | 1994/11/2 | 20 |
| Yuna SATO | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Sankyu Inc. | 170 | 76 | 1998/9/11 | 16 |
| Anan SEO | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | OSP HOLDINGS CO., LTD. | 155 | 59 | 2001/7/16 | 0 |
| Kotomi TANIGUCHI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | NKS Corp | 163 | 75 | 1995/4/10 | 19 |
| Moe TSUKUI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | LIBEST Corp. | 153 | 53 | 2000/3/28 | 34 |
| Ayano NAGAI | YOKOHAMA TKM | Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System | 168 | 92 | 1997/10/14 | 25 |
| Iroha NAGATA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Kanto Foods Co.,Ltd. | 168 | 70 | 1998/12/21 | 33 |
| Nijiho NAGATA | MIE PEARLS | SEIBUNSHA Co., Ltd. | 162 | 80 | 2000/12/6 | 22 |
| Sora NISHIMURA | MIE PEARLS | Choko Co.，Ltd. | 167 | 68 | 2000/9/29 | 13 |
| Haruka HIROTSU | Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA | Waseda Univ. | 169 | 71 | 2000/10/29 | 10 |
| Mana FURUTA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | NTT Facilities Inc. | 167 | 70 | 1997/11/16 | 29 |
| Kyoko HOSOKAWA | MIE PEARLS | Sumitomo Wiring Systems,Ltd. | 164 | 73 | 1999/7/8 | 12 |
| Misaki MATSUMURA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Waseda Univ. | 169 | 72 | 2005/3/6 | 7 |
| Manami MINE | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 163 | 77 | 2003/9/11 | 7 |
| Minori YAMAMOTO | YOKOHAMA TKM | － | 169 | 70 | 1996/12/9 | 31 |
| Otoka YOSHIMURA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Saitamaken Shinkin Bank. | 174 | 83 | 2001/5/15 | 21 |
| Jennifer NDUKA | Hokkaido Barbarians Diana | Medical System Network | 168 | 80 | 2000/10/18 | 7 |