Sakura Fifteen Defeat USA Eagles in LA Epic
In front of a packed crowd at Wallis Annenberg Stadium, UCLA, Japan faced an Eagles side fielding a noticeable size advantage across the park. This was most evident in the big USA forward pack which used its bulk to steamroll the Japanese scrum on numerous occasions. While Japan struggled at scrum time, they more than matched their hosts with their well-structured rolling maul, a weapon they used to great effect throughout the match.
Since their last test match in 2024, Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has been putting a major focus on the strength and conditioning programme across her entire squad. The fruits of this were clearly on display in LA with Japan muscling up in defence and hitting their attacking lines with aggression and purpose.
Japan enjoyed a fast start with winger Komachi Imakugi, playing in her 30th test, dotting down for the opening try in the fourth minute. Flyhalf Minori Yamamoto slotted the conversion to give the visitors a 0-7 lead.
Spurred on by their home crowd, the Eagles then took control of the match, running in 21 unanswered points inside a powerful, fifteen-minute burst. Japan managed to tighten up their defence for the remainder of the half, before scoring two quick tries ahead of the halftime break.
The first came from a scintillating set-piece play off the back of an attacking scrum. Komachi Imakugi came off her left wing in a scything diagonal run through the Eagles’ defence before unleashing a pin-point pass to her wing partner, Rinka Matsuda. Matsuda then hit the gas, flying down the right wing to score in the corner.
With play continuing after the halftime hooter, Japan scored again in the 43rd minute following a sustained forwards raid on the Eagles’ try line. With their hosts working desperately to keep the Japanese pack out, a quick pass out to the backs saw veteran centre, Mana Furuta score Japan’s third try of the half. Following the conversion, the Sakura Fifteen went into the sheds trailing 21-19 at the break.
In the second half, the hosts and visitors traded scores in the first twenty minutes, with two tries a piece, to see the USA holding onto a 33-31 lead with a quarter left to play. From then on, the scoring was all Japan. Following a penalty goal on the 65th minute mark, the visitors followed up with a period of sustained pressure for the remaining 15 minutes of the match.
With Japan attacking the line with wave after wave of driving forwards play, replacement halfback Megumi Abe spotted the overlap out to the left. Throwing the ball wide, it eventually found the hands of replacement back and debutant, Nana Tarekado. The young winger raced to the line and with three Eagles defenders on her back, dotted down in the left-hand corner. Japan missed the subsequent conversion but held to secure an historic 33-39 win.
Commenting after the match, Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie said:
“The girls worked so hard to get so much right last night— they thoroughly deserve this victory and the feeling the whole squad will have this morning of achieving this first time ever win over the USA.
“We’ve had a really good, extremely tough
build up, including a training game with the Americans last Saturday at their
training base in Chula Vista, and another full contact training with Canada on
the Tuesday. They’ve got the victory that they deserved from the effort
they put in, and I’m so happy for them. They were tough, they worked for
each other, and they scored some fabulous tries. Minori Yamamoto gave us the
game we needed from her to control what we could; Haruka Hirotsu provided three
try-assists and was totally dominant in defence; and Nana Tarekado came on to
score a try in her first test cap. Those are just three examples of players
being supported by the work of their teammates to be brilliant on the
day.
“I hope players and staff arrive home with a bit of a victory glow about them
and they need to enjoy that, because we’re back into our RWC preparation very
soon. We’re looking forward to playing in front of Japanese rugby fans in
July.”
Sakura Fifteens Captain Iroha Nagata added:
“Thank you to the fans for your support. We’re delighted to win the first test match of the season. This result is down to the efforts of everyone, not just the members of the matchday team. I am so proud of the whole team. In the first half we made mistakes and gave the ball to our opponents, which gave them momentum. In the second half we were able to control the tempo of the game keep it at our own pace. I think it was a good victory that will lead to the next step. We will continue to grow, and we count on your continued support.”
Japan vs USA Past Results:
April 26, 2025 (W) 33-39 Los Angeles, USA
August 17, 2024 (L) 8-11 Shizuoka, Japan
August 11, 2024 (D) 17-17 Fukuoka, Japan
October 15, 2022 (L) 17-30 Whangarei, New Zealand (RWC)
April 15, 1994 (L) 0-121 Melrose, Scotland (RWC)