Sakura Fifteens to Face South Africa in WXV2 Opener
Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has today named her Sakura Fifteen team to face hosts South Africa in the opening match of the WXV2, on Friday, September 27 at DHL Stadium in Cape Town. Kicking off at 16:00 local South African time (23:00 JST), both teams will be looking to make the best possible start to the tournament.
McKenzie has made some significant changes to her matchday 23 from the team that lost 24-8 to Italy two weeks ago, in the northern Italian town of Piacenza. Eight players come into the side, including Seina Saito, Japan’s most capped player, who slots in at number eight, with Jennifer Nduka moving to the reserves bench. The other big change is the return of Ayasa Otsuka into the playmaker role as the starting number 10.
A notable aspect of the selection is the level of test match experience right across the team. The average number of test caps stands at 20, a figure unimaginable in Japanese women’s rugby even a year or two ago. The Sakura Fifteen will need to draw on all this experience if they are to take down a fired-up South Africa who will be desperate to impress in front of their home fans.
Commenting on the team announcement, Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie said:
“We’ve had some really good days of preparation in Cape Town following some days off in Stellenbosch. We’ve acclimatised well to South Africa and are looking forward to playing the home nation in the opening game of WXV. We’re the first game of all three tiers so we’re excited to hopefully set the standard.
“It’s not too big a secret how South Africa are going to approach the game. They’ve got very direct carriers and a very direct style of play. Half the game is going to be about negating that as best we can, while the other half, and slightly more we hope, is going to be our approach, in how we want to play the game according to our style and abilities.”
The match will be broadcast from 22:50 on J Sports2 and via J Sports On-Demand, both live and via catch-up.
All of Japan’s WXV2 matches will be telecast exclusively in Japan via J Sports. Fans looking to catch the other WXV2 matches in 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.
Following their match against South Africa, Japan 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).
Both matches will be held at Athlone Sports Stadium, just outside of central Cape Town.
Team List:
| Name | Team | Company | Height (cm) | Weight (kg) | DOB | Cap | |
| 1 | Sachiko KATO | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | SECOM CO., LTD. | 164 | 90 | 2000/2/19 | 25 |
| 2 | Kotomi TANIGUCHI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | NKS Corp | 163 | 75 | 1995/4/10 | 20 |
| 3 | Wako KITANO | MIE PEARLS | Sumitomo Wiring Systems | 167 | 92 | 1999/9/8 | 15 |
| 4 | Yuna SATO | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Sankyu Inc. | 170 | 76 | 1998/9/11 | 17 |
| 5 | Otoka YOSHIMURA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Saitamaken Shinkin Bank. | 174 | 83 | 2001/5/15 | 22 |
| 6 | Masami KAWAMURA | – | － | 173 | 75 | 1999/7/13 | 16 |
| 7 | Iroha NAGATA (C) | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Kanto Foods Co.,Ltd. | 168 | 70 | 1998/12/21 | 34 |
| 8 | Seina SAITO | MIE PEARLS | Eiwatech Co.,Ltd. | 164 | 72 | 1992/5/30 | 44 |
| 9 | Moe TSUKUI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | LIBEST Corp. | 153 | 53 | 2000/3/28 | 35 |
| 10 | Ayasa OTSUKA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Inose Logistics Service Co., Ltd. | 163 | 65 | 1999/5/5 | 28 |
| 11 | Komachi IMAKUGI | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | OKINAYA Co.,Ltd. | 158 | 60 | 2002/1/6 | 26 |
| 12 | Haruka HIROTSU | Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA | Waseda Univ. | 169 | 71 | 2000/10/29 | 10 |
| 13 | Mana FURUTA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | NTT Facilities Inc. | 167 | 70 | 1997/11/16 | 30 |
| 14 | Misaki MATSUMURA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Waseda Univ. | 169 | 72 | 2005/3/6 | 8 |
| 15 | Sora NISHIMURA | MIE PEARLS | Choko Co.，Ltd. | 167 | 68 | 2000/9/29 | 14 |
| 16 | Asuka KUGE | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | Goto Hygine Consultant | 164 | 78 | 1994/9/22 | 15 |
| 17 | Manami MINE | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 163 | 77 | 2003/9/11 | 7 |
| 18 | Nijiho NAGATA | MIE PEARLS | SEIBUNSHA Co., Ltd. | 162 | 80 | 2000/12/6 | 23 |
| 19 | Kyoko HOSOKAWA | MIE PEARLS | Sumitomo Wiring Systems,Ltd. | 164 | 73 | 1999/7/8 | 13 |
| 20 | Jennifer NDUKA | Hokkaido Barbarians Diana | Medical System Network | 168 | 80 | 2000/10/18 | 8 |
| 21 | Megumi ABE | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | RDC Co.,Ltd. | 147 | 55 | 1998/4/28 | 25 |
| 22 | Rinka MATSUDA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | Toppan Inc. | 171 | 74 | 2001/12/5 | 9 |
| 23 | Kanako KOBAYASHI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | Shonan Kamakura General Hospital | 164 | 68 | 1998/11/13 | 14 |
(C) Captain