Sakura Fifteen to Face Ireland in Galway

Japan Head Coach Toshizumi Kitagawa has named his Sakura Fifteen side to take on Ireland tomorrow, Sunday, September 27, in their second match of the 2026 WXV Global Series at Dexcom Stadium in Galway. Kicking off at 12:45 local time (20:45 JST), the match is the first of two consecutive tests against Ireland, with the sides set to meet again next Saturday, October 3 at Virgin Media Park in Cork.

Captain Moe Tsukui will lead the Sakura Fifteen in a significant personal milestone, earning her 50th Test cap for Japan. Still only 26 years old, Tsukui has become a central figure in the Sakura Fifteen and will again start at halfback as Japan look to bounce back from last weekend’s 55-21 defeat to Italy in Pordenone.

Head Coach Kitagawa has made two changes to the starting side that faced Italy. Moe Nagaoka moves from the reserves to start at hooker, joining Hinata Komaki and Wako Kitano in the front row. The remainder of the starting forward pack is unchanged, with Masami Kawamura and Yuna Sato in the second row and Nami Asari, Sakurako Korai and Jennifer Nduka forming the back row. Both Kawamura and Asari crossed for tries against Italy last weekend.

In the backs, Tsukui again partners Sawa Harada in the halves, while Mana Furuta continues at inside centre. Outside her, Uta Kataoka earns her first Test start at outside centre after making her Sakura Fifteen debut from the bench against Italy last weekend.

Komachi Imakugi and Sora Nishimura continue on the wings, with Maiko Nishi again starting at fullback.

There are three new players in the matchday 23, with experienced front-rower Nijiho Nagata, lock Mio Nishimura and back Minori Yamamoto coming onto the reserves bench.

Nami Yoshida and Juka Fuji provide the remaining front-row cover, while Otoka Yoshimura joins Mio Nishimura among the reserve forwards. Anan Seo, Yamamoto and Mele Yua Havili Kagawa complete the matchday squad.

Commenting ahead of the match, Japan Head Coach Toshizumi Kitagawa said:

“During the week, we’ve been focusing on improving our basic skills while also looking at how we want to play our style of game against Ireland. The mood among the squad is great. There is a real determination to use these two matches to show our potential and to continue the growth of the team.”

Following their opening WXV Global Series defeat to Italy, the Sakura Fifteen will be looking to take another step forward as they continue their European tour in their first season under the guidance of Head Coach Kitagawa.

The match will be broadcast live and available for catch-up on J Sports On-Demand from 20:30 JST.

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	22
2	Moe NAGAOKA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Mitsubishi Jisho Property Management Co., Ltd.	163	67	1999/6/7	8
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems	166	95	1999/9/8	27
4	Masami KAWAMURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NTT FACILITIES, INC.	173	75	1999/7/13	27
5	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	80	1998/9/11	31
6	Nami ASARI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Hosei Univ.	171	62	2008/2/1	2
7	Sakurako KORAI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	166	67	2003/4/9	26
8	Jennifer NDUKA	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	75	2000/10/18	21
9	Moe TSUKUI (C)	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	54	2000/3/28	49
10	Sawa HARADA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	165	63	2005/3/12	4
11	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	OKINAYA Co.,Ltd.	158	58	2002/1/6	36
12	Mana FURUTA	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	NTT Facilities Inc.	167	69	1997/11/16	43
13	Uta KATAOKA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Dic Solution Engineering Inc.	166	66	2004/4/23	1
14	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	67	2000/9/29	28
15	Maiko NISHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Graduate School Tsukuba Univ.	163	63	2004/1/27	2
16	Nijiho NAGATA	MIE PEARLS	SEIBUNSHA Co., Ltd.	162	80	2000/12/6	32
17	Nami YOSHIDA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Human Life care Yokohama	165	76	1999/4/13	6
18	Juka　FUJI	YOKOHAMA TKM	TMG Head Office, Yokohama Branch	171	85	2001/1/22	4
19	Otoka YOSHIMURA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Saitamaken Shinkin Bank.	174	83	2001/5/15	35
20	Mio NISHIMURA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Medical Satellite	168	85	2002/11/29	9
21	Anan SEO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	OSP HOLDINGS CO.,LTD.	155	59	2001/7/16	5
22	Minori YAMAMOTO	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	168	68	1996/12/9	43
23	Mele Yua HAVILI KAGAWA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	171	74	2001/9/29	10

(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
55-21 (L)
WXV Global Series
Pordenone, Italy

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

Saturday 3 October
Ireland vs Japan
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