Sakura Fifteens Set for Black Ferns Clash

Japan Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has named her Sakura Fifteen side to face New Zealand in their second Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool C match on Sunday, August 31. Kicking off at 14:00 local UK time, 22:00 Japan time, the match will take place at Exeter’s Sandy Park, in the beautiful Devonshire countryside of Southwest England.

Having fallen to Ireland 42-14 in their opening Pool C match, the Sakura Fifteen will be looking to get their World Cup campaign back on track when they line up against the Black Ferns. It will be no easy task against the current back-to-back and six-time World Champions who come into Rugby World Cup 2025 as one of the strong tournament favourites.

McKenzie has picked a near identical side to the team that faced Ireland with only three changes across the matchday 23. The starting fifteen sees just the one change with Sakurako Hatada, who started last week on the reserves bench, coming onto the right wing. Meanwhile Jennifer Nduka comes onto the bench as the reserve lock. She is joined by Kanako Kobayashi who comes into the side as a reserve back.

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

“I was really pleased to see the New Zealand team list when it came out. They’re obviously taking this game with a measure of respect by naming a really strong team. We’ve named a team we think is going to bring the attitude and energy to make a statement as to who we are and how we play. As a head coach, the opportunity to play the World Champions in the pool stage is really exciting. The girls have trained really well this week, challenging each other and have been positively energetic. We’re really looking forward to the game at Sandy Park.

Sakura Fifteen Captain Iroha Nagata added:

“Our preparations this week have been great. We’ve taken away some things from the Ireland match to take forward with our game. The match this week is a great opportunity to play the current World Champions in the pool phase. The team is really excited to be able to showcase Sakura Fifteen rugby.”

The match at Sandy Park will be a homecoming of sorts for Sakura Fifteen’s prop Sachiko Kato and centre Kanako Kobayashi. Both players spent seasons playing with the local Premiership Women’s Rugby side, the Exter Chiefs.

The Japan v New Zealand match will be broadcast live in Japan on J Sports 1 from 21:45 on Sunday, August 31. It will also be streamed live and available for catch-up on J Sports On Demand.

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	31
2	Asuka KUGE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Goto Hygiene Consultant	164	78	1994/9/22	23
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems	167	92	1999/9/8	23
4	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	76	1998/9/11	25
5	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Saitamaken Shinkin Bank.	174	83	2001/5/15	30
6	Masami KAWAMURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Samko Gakuen Tokyo Resort & Sports vocational school	173	75	1999/7/13	23
7	Iroha NAGATA (C)	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Kanto Foods Co.,Ltd.	168	70	1998/12/21	41
8	Seina SAITO	MIE PEARLS	Eiwatech Co.,Ltd.	164	72	1992/5/30	51
9	Moe TSUKUI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	53	2000/3/28	43
10	Ayasa OTSUKA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	One Logistics Co., Ltd.	163	65	1999/5/5	37
11	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	OKINAYA Co.,Ltd.	158	60	2002/1/6	31
12	Haruka HIROTSU	Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA	Kyushu Fuundou Sales Co., Ltd.	169	71	2000/10/29	18
13	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	70	1997/11/16	37
14	Sakurako HATADA	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	161	65	2003/5/8	10
15	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	68	2000/9/29	22
16	Kotomi TANIGUCHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NKS Corp	163	75	1995/4/10	27
17	Manami MINE	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	163	77	2003/9/11	13
18	Nijiho NAGATA	MIE PEARLS	SEIBUNSHA Co., Ltd.	162	80	2000/12/6	30
19	Ayano SAKURAI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	73	1996/4/15	24
20	Jennifer NDUKA	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	80	2000/10/18	15
21	Megumi ABE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	RDC Co.,Ltd.	147	55	1998/4/28	33
22	Minori YAMAMOTO	YOKOHAMA TKM	－	169	70	1996/12/9	39
23	Kanako KOBAYASHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Shonan Kamakura General Hospital	164	68	1998/11/13	20

(c) Captain

Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool C

Sunday 24 August
Ireland v Japan
42-14 (L)
Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton

Sunday 31 August
New Zealand v Japan
Sandy Park, Exeter

Sunday 7 September
Japan v Spain
York Community Stadium, York