Sakura Fifteen Named for Wales Rematch in Kumagaya

The Sakura Fifteen will take on Wales this Saturday, October 31, in the second of two consecutive test matches against their European opponents. Head Coach Toshizumi Kitagawa has named his side for the 16:00 JST clash at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, which forms part of the Taiyo Seimei JAPAN RUGBY CHALLENGE MATCH 2026 and WXV Global Series.

Japan will be looking to bounce back from last Saturday’s 0-17 defeat at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, where the two sides met as part of the JRFU’s historic centenary double header. Despite the result, the Sakura Fifteen produced a determined performance in difficult, wet conditions, enjoying long periods of possession and putting together several encouraging passages of attacking play.

While Japan showed ambition and resilience throughout the encounter, they struggled to convert possession and attacking opportunities into points. Wales meanwhile made the most of their size and physicality, particularly at scrum time, to gradually take control of the match. With the benefit of another week of preparation, Kitagawa’s side will be looking to build on the positives from Tokyo, while finding ways to better contain the Welsh forward pack and turn their attacking opportunities into points.

Kitagawa has retained much of his starting side from last weekend, while making several changes across the forward pack and backline. In the forwards, Hinata Komaki, Moe Nagaoka and Wako Kitano continue their combination in the front row, with Masami Kawamura and Yuna Sato again partnering in the second row. Nami Asari retains her place at blindside flanker, while Jennifer Nduka comes into the starting side at openside flanker. Savannah Bodman continues at number eight, having made her international debut in Tokyo last weekend.

Captain Moe Tsukui again leads the side from halfback, partnering young flyhalf Sawa Harada. Mele Yua Havili Kagawa comes into the starting line-up on the left wing, while Uta Kataoka and Sophie Akiko Langford continue their partnership in the midfield. Honoka Tsunokawa retains her position on the right wing, with Komachi Imakugi coming into the side at fullback.

On the bench, Asuka Kuge, Manami Mine and Juka Fuji provide front-row cover, with Mio Nishimura and Sakurako Korai completing the forward replacements. Anan Seo, Chihiro Ito and Sora Nishimura provide additional options across the backline.

Saturday’s return encounter offers the Sakura Fifteen an immediate opportunity to demonstrate their progress against a physically imposing Welsh side. Having shown their ability to compete and retain possession in Tokyo, Japan will be looking to deliver a more clinical attacking performance, while containing the visitors’ physical threat.

The match will be broadcast live across Japan on J SPORTS 1 from 15:45 JST and streamed live on J SPORTS On Demand from 15:45 JST.

Fans looking to catch the action live can pick up tickets via the JRFU’s English-language ticketing website at: https://quick.pia.jp/japan-rugby_en/.

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	25
2	Moe NAGAOKA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Mitsubishi Jisho Property Management Co., Ltd.	163	67	1999/6/7	11
3	Wako KITANO	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems	166	95	1999/9/8	30
4	Masami KAWAMURA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	NTT FACILITIES, INC.	173	75	1999/7/13	30
5	Yuna SATO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	170	80	1998/9/11	34
6	Nami ASARI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Hosei Univ.	171	62	2008/2/1	5
7	Nduka　JENNIFER	Hokkaido Barbarians Diana	Medical System Network	168	75	2000/10/18	24
8	Savannah BODMAN	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Tokyo Athletic United General Incorporated Association Tokyo Athletic United	168	70	2002/2/16	1
9	Moe TSUKUI (C)	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	LIBEST Corp.	153	54	2000/3/28	52
10	Sawa HARADA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	165	63	2005/3/12	7
11	Mele Yua HAVILI KAGAWA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	171	74	2001/9/29	12
12	Uta KATAOKA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Dic Solution Engineering Inc.	166	66	2004/4/23	4
13	Sophie Akiko LANGFORD	YOKOHAMA TKM	Medical Corporation Yokohama Mirai Healthcare System	169	75	2004/8/22	1
14	Honoka TSUNOKAWA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Yukari no Sato	164	63	2001/9/10	3
15	Komachi IMAKUGI	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	OKINAYA Co.,Ltd.	158	58	2002/1/6	38
16	Asuka KUGE	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	Goto Hygiene Consultant	164	77	1994/9/22	28
17	Manami MINE	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	163	77	2003/9/11	15
18	Juka　FUJI	YOKOHAMA TKM	TMG Head Office, Yokohama Branch	171	85	2001/1/22	7
19	Mio NISHIMURA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Medical Satellite	168	85	2002/11/29	11
20	Sakurako KORAI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	166	67	2003/4/9	29
21	Anan SEO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	OSP HOLDINGS CO.,LTD.	155	59	2001/7/16	7
22	Chihiro ITO	Waseda Univ. Rugby Football Club Women’s Team	Waseda Univ.	164	66	2007/7/15	1
23	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co. Ltd.	167	67	2000/9/29	30

(c) Captain