Sakura Fifteen Side to Face Italy in RWC Warmup

Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has named her Sakura Fifteen side to face Italy in their one-off, Rugby World Cup warmup this Saturday, August 9 at Stadio San Michele in Calvisano, 100 kilometres east of Milan. Kicking off at 19:30 local Italian time, 02:30 on Sunday, August 10 Japan time, the match will be the eighth meeting between the two sides. Italy currently hold bragging rights between the two teams with their five wins, one draw and a solitary loss.

The fixture will be Japan’s third consecutive pre-tournament warmup match against Italy in as many years, following similar one-off tests ahead of the WXV2 tournament in 2023 and 2024. The Sakura Fifteen will be looking to replicate their 2023 heroics when they downed Le Azzurre 24-25 in the northern Italian city of Parma.

Japan come into the match in strong form on the back of a five-match winning streak following their two-test series win over their RWC Pool C rivals Spain at home in July. In April they recorded an emphatic, first-ever win over the USA in Los Angeles and comfortably dispatched of both Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China during the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship.

Captained by Iroha Nagata at openside flanker, the most striking aspect of this Sakura Fifteen side is the level of depth and experience spread right across the matchday 23. With an average of 24 tests caps per player, and with only two players holding 10 caps or less, Japan will come into this World Cup with an unprecedented level of experience.

The Sakura Fifteen will also reach a monumental team and personal milestone with number eight, Seina Saito set to earn her 50^th test cap for her country. This huge achievement makes her the first ever Sakura Fifteen player to cross this symbolic threshold. At 33 years of age, and as one of the team’s most consistent performers, Japanese rugby fans will be hoping for a few more years of international rugby from this icon of the Japanese women’s game.

Commenting on the team announcement, Sakura Fifteen Head Coach Lesley McKenzie said:

“Italy have been building really well through this year, and this is probably the strongest iteration of them that I have ever seen. They were deserved quarterfinalists at the last World Cup, and I think they will be in the hunt to improve on that this time. Their wingers are world class, and their halfback facilitates that, on the back of an athletic, skilled forward pack. This will be fantastic preparation for the challenges posed by our pool opposition. We always enjoy playing in Italy and it has been a really good week of preparation. I’m looking forward to seeing a strong test from them and a corresponding performance this weekend from the girls.”

Sakura Fifteen Captain Iroha Nagata added:

‘Our final test match before the Rugby World Cup in England will be an opportunity for us to show the results of our training and demonstrate our growth. We will be looking to apply pressure in both attack and defence, to control the game and play for the win, while building momentum for the World Cup.”

Fans looking to watch the match can tune into the Italian Rugby Federation’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNJafMfF5F8

Sakura Fifteen 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	29
2	Asuka KUGE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Goto Hygine Consultant	164	78	1994/9/22	21
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems	167	92	1999/9/8	21
4	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	76	1998/9/11	23
5	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Saitamaken Shinkin Bank.	174	83	2001/5/15	28
6	Masami KAWAMURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Samko Gakuen Tokyo Resort & Sports vocational school	173	75	1999/7/13	21
7	Iroha NAGATA (C)	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Kanto Foods Co.,Ltd.	168	70	1998/12/21	39
8	Seina SAITO	MIE PEARLS	Eiwatech Co.,Ltd.	164	72	1992/5/30	49
9	Moe TSUKUI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	53	2000/3/28	41
10	Ayasa OTSUKA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	One Logistics Co., Ltd.	163	65	1999/5/5	35
11	Sakurako HATADA	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	161	65	2003/5/8	8
12	Haruka HIROTSU	Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA	Kyushu Fuundou Sales Co., Ltd.	169	71	2000/10/29	16
13	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	70	1997/11/16	35
14	Misaki MATSUMURA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Waseda Univ.	169	72	2005/3/6	12
15	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	68	2000/9/29	20
16	Kotomi TANIGUCHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NKS Corp	163	75	1995/4/10	25
17	Manami MINE	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	163	77	2003/9/11	11
18	Miharu MACHIDA	Japan Univ..of Economics	Japan Univ..of Economics	172	90	2004/5/26	3
19	Ayano SAKURAI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	73	1996/4/15	22
20	Jennifer NDUKA	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	80	2000/10/18	14
21	Sakurako KORAI	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	168	73	2003/4/9	21
22	Megumi ABE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	RDC Co.,Ltd.	147	55	1998/4/28	31
23	Minori YAMAMOTO	YOKOHAMA TKM	－	169	70	1996/12/9	37

(c) Captain

Following their match against Le Azzurre, Japan will depart for England to begin their final RWC preparations. Drawn in Pool C alongside Ireland, New Zealand and Spain, the Sakura Fifteen will be looking to deliver their best ever Rugby World Cup performance.

Japan vs Italy Past Results:

September 14, 2024 (L) 24-8 Piacenza

October 13, 2023 (L) 28-15 Stellenbosch (WXV2)

September 30, 2023 (W) 24-25 Parma

October 23, 2022 (L) 21-8 Auckland (RWC)

November 16, 2019 (D) 17-17 L’Aquila

August 22, 2017 (L) 22-0 Belfast (RWC)

May 22, 2002 (L) 30-3 Barcelona (RWC)