Sakura Fifteen Set for Italian Job in Pordenone

Japan Head Coach Toshizumi Kitagawa has named his Sakura Fifteen side to face Italy today, September 19, in their first match of the 2026 WXV Global Series. Kicking off at 14:30 local time (21:30 JST), the match will take place at Stadio Omero Tognon in Pordenone, around an hour’s drive northeast of Venice.

Captained by experienced halfback Moe Tsukui, the side continues to reflect a blend of established international experience and emerging talent as Kitagawa works to develop his squad in the first year of the four-year cycle towards Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia.

There are several changes to the starting side from Japan’s last match against Fiji. Hinata Komaki comes into the front row at loosehead prop, joining Asuka Kuge and Wako Kitano, while the experienced second-row combination of Masami Kawamura and Yuna Sato remains unchanged.

Nami Asari and Sakurako Korai continue in the back row, where they are joined by Jennifer Nduka at number eight. Nduka moves into the starting side after featuring among the replacements against Fiji.

In the backs, captain Tsukui again starts at halfback, with Sawa Harada moving into the starting side at flyhalf. The experienced Mana Furuta and Haruka Hirotsu continue their midfield combination, while Komachi Imakugi comes onto the left wing. Sora Nishimura moves from fullback to the right wing, with Maiko Nishi shifting from the wing to start at fullback.

The reserves feature a combination of experience and developing talent. Moe Nagaoka, Nami Yoshida and Juka Fuji provide front-row cover, while the experienced Otoka Yoshimura joins Mele Yua Havili Kagawa among the forward replacements. Anan Seo and Kanna Hayashi provide cover across the backs.

Completing the matchday 23 is uncapped Uta Kataoka, who is in line to make her Sakura Fifteen test debut. The 22-year-old YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars back is the latest player to be introduced into the national team environment as Japan continues to build greater depth and experience across the squad.

Fans looking to catch the action live or via catch-up can tune into the match via the official YouTube channel of the Federazione Italiana Rugby at: https://www.youtube.com/live/YhUwD9vwP1Y

Sakura Fifteen Team List:

	Name	Team	Company	Height(cm)	Weight(kg)	DOB	Cap
1	Hinata KOMAKI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	166	75	2001/5/9	21
2	Asuka KUGE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Goto Hygiene Consultant	164	77	1994/9/22	27
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems	166	95	1999/9/8	26
4	Masami KAWAMURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NTT FACILITIES, INC.	173	75	1999/7/13	26
5	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	80	1998/9/11	30
6	Nami ASARI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Hosei Univ.	171	62	2008/2/1	1
7	Sakurako KORAI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	166	67	2003/4/9	25
8	Jennifer NDUKA	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	75	2000/10/18	20
9	Moe TSUKUI (C)	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	54	2000/3/28	48
10	Sawa HARADA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	165	63	2005/3/12	3
11	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	OKINAYA Co.,Ltd.	158	58	2002/1/6	35
12	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	69	1997/11/16	42
13	Haruka HIROTSU	Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA	Kyushu Fuundou Sales Co., Ltd.	169	71	2000/10/29	20
14	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	67	2000/9/29	27
15	Maiko NISHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Graduate School	163	63	2004/1/27	1
16	Moe NAGAOKA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Mitsubishi Jisho Property Management Co., Ltd.	163	67	1999/6/7	7
17	Nami YOSHIDA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Human Life care Yokohama	165	76	1999/4/13	5
18	Juka　FUJI	YOKOHAMA TKM	TMG Head Office, Yokohama Branch	171	85	2001/1/22	3
19	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Saitamaken Shinkin Bank.	174	83	2001/5/15	34
20	Mele Yua HAVILI KAGAWA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	171	74	2001/9/29	9
21	Anan SEO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	OSP HOLDINGS CO.,LTD.	155	59	2001/7/16	4
22	Kanna HAYASHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	SECOM CO., LTD.	166	66	2001/4/30	3
23	Uta KATAOKA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Dic Solution Engineering Inc.	166	66	2004/4/23	0

(c) Captain

Sakura Fifteen 2026 Match Schedule

Friday 4 September
Japan vs Fiji
12-15 (L)
JAPAN BASE Fukuoka

Saturday 19 September
Italy vs Japan
WXV Global Series
Pordenone, Italy

Sunday 27 September
Ireland vs Japan
WXV Global Series
Galway, Ireland

Saturday 3 October
Ireland vs Japan
WXV Global Series
Cork, Ireland

Saturday 24 October
Japan vs Wales
Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2026 / WXV Global Series
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo

Saturday 31 October
Japan vs Wales
WXV Global Series
Kumagaya Sports and Culture Park Rugby Stadium, Saitama