Sakura Fifteen Team Announced for Kazakhstan Match

The JRFU have announced the Sakura Fifteen team to face Kazakhstan in Round One of the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship at JAPAN BASE in Kyushyu on Thursday, May 15. Kicking off at 13:00 local Japan time, the match will be the first of three fixtures in the three-team, round-robin tournament that also features Hong Kong China.

While the fixture will be a fully capped international, the Japan coaching team have opted for a relatively inexperienced matchday 23 compared to the side that defeated the USA Eagles last month in Los Angeles. While the team in LA featured an average of 21 test caps per player, for the fixture against Kazakhstan, the figure drops to an average of just eight caps per player.

While there are some experienced campaigners spread across the team, including 31-capped playmaker, Ayasa Otsuka at number 10, 15 players in the matchday 23 have just 10 test caps or less, including five debutants.

Blindside Flanker and Captain, Sukurako Korai is one of only five players that featured in Japan’s historic win over the USA. She is joined by 20-year-old winger, Nana Tarekado who scored a memorable try on debut against the USA. Having come onto the left wing as a replacement in the second half, Tarekado carried three Eagles defenders with her across the try line as she dotted down in the left corner to seal the win for Japan.

With Rugby World Cup coming up in England this August and with Japan riding high following their victory in LA, the match against Kazakhstan will provide an important opportunity for several emerging and fringe players to gain valuable game time. Not only will this help build depth across the team, it will also intensify competition for places across the squad, a vital element to further drive the competitive hunger of the playing group.

Following their match against Japan, Kazakhstan will face Hong Kong China on Tuesday, May 20. Japan will then face Hong Kong China in the third and final match of the tournament on Sunday, May 25.  All matches will take place at JAPAN BASE, with free entry for spectators for every fixture.

The match against Kazakhstan will be streamed live from 12:45 JST and available via catch-up on J Sports On-Demand. A delayed broadcast will also be shown on J Sports 2 from 19:00 JST on Friday, 16 May.

Sakura Fifteen Team List:

	Name	Team	Company	Height(cm)	Weight(kg)	DOB	Cap
1	Hinata KOMAKI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Sankyu Inc.	165	78	2001/5/9	17
2	Ayumu KOKAJI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	OSP Holdings co., ltd.	160	80	2000/2/19	8
3	Miharu MACHIDA	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	172	90	2004/5/26	1
4	Saya NAKAMURA	MIE PEARLS	Suzuran Clinic	178	70	2002/3/15	1
5	Mio NISHIMURA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Dai-1 Hospital	169	82	2002/11/29	5
6	Sakurako KORAI (C)	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	Nippon Sport Science Univ.	168	73	2003/4/9	18
7	Kyoko HOSOKAWA	MIE PEARLS	Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.	164	71	1999/7/8	14
8	Sakura MIZUTANI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	Tokyo Athletic United	166	65	2003/12/13	0
9	Anan SEO	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix	OSP Holdings co., ltd.	155	59	2001/7/16	1
10	Ayasa OTSUKA	ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA	One Logistics Co., Ltd.	163	65	1999/5/5	31
11	Nana TAREKADO	Japan Univ. of Economics	Japan Univ. of Economics	167	74	2004/7/27	1
12	Kanako KOBAYASHI	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Shonan Kamakura General Hospital	164	68	1998/11/13	17
13	Nao ANDO	BRAVE LOUVE	Valuence Holdings Inc.	169	64	2001/7/17	10
14	Mele Yua Havili KAGAWA	Nanairo PRISM FUKUOKA	CellSource Co., Ltd.	171	75	2001/9/29	2
15	Sora NISHIMURA	MIE PEARLS	Choko Co.，Ltd.	167	68	2000/9/29	18
16	Haruna KOJIMA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Totsuka Kyoritsu Dai-1 Hospital	162	84	2001/3/5	0
17	Nami YOSHIDA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Human Life care Yokohama	165	73	1999/4/13	0
18	Yuka SADAKA	YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars	Kansai Automation Co., LTD.	167	94	1994/11/2	20
19	Miho MATSUNAGA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Yokohama Mirai Nursing School	173	72	1992/11/27	0
20	Moe NAGAOKA	YOKOHAMA TKM	Mitsubishi Jisho Property Management Co., Ltd.	163	67	1999/6/7	2
21	Mio YAMANAKA	MIE PEARLS	TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION.	156	56	1995/10/27	2
22	Kotono YASUO	BRAVE LOUVE	Valuence Holdings Inc.	156	60	2001/10/2	11
23	Arisa NISHI	Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix/Rikkyo Univ.	Rikkyo Univ.	165	65	2004/5/29	0