women
international women
Sakura Fifteen head coach Toshizumi Kitagawa has announced his 30-man squad for the WXV Global Series.
A total of 16 players competed in the women’s championship Rugby World Cup 2025 last year. This includes half of the team, Moe Tsukui, who is in line to play 50 games while in Europe.
Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars center Uta Kataoka is the only player not named in the squad. She will compete with Haruka Hirotsu and Mana Furuta for a place in the starting XV.
It was only last month Japan The Rugby Football Union has announced that former Brave Blossoms player Toshizumi Kitagawa has been appointed as head coach.
He previously held the role on an interim basis following the departure of Lesley McKenzie as head coach upon completion Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and led the team to success in the Asian Women’s Rugby Championship. McKenzie was recently named contact coach Portugal men’s team.
At the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, Japan exited the tournament in the group stage, but ended their time in England with victory.
In Kitagawa’s first game as head coach, Japan lost 15-12 to Fijiana at the JAPAN BASE in Fukofuka. Fiji supported that victory once again in their WXV Global Series Challenger opener vs Spain on weekends.
After making their Sakura Fifteen debuts in that Test against Fijiana, Maiko Nishi, Honoka Tsunokawa and Nami Asari were all named for the European tour.
In September, Sakura Fifteen will play matches against Italy and Ireland. They will play Ireland again as part of the WXV Global Series outside of the window, before hosting Wales for back-to-back Test matches in September.
Lineup for Japan 2026 WXV Global Series
There are five of them
Hinata Komaki
Yuka Fuji
Miharu Machida
Nami Yoshida
Asuka Plague
Sleeping Nagaoka
Nijiho Nagata
Masami Kawamura
Yuna Sato
I’m Nakamura
Yoshimura Islands
Nami Asari
Sakurako Korai
Mio Nishimura
Mele Yu Havili Kagawa
Jennifer Nduka
Anan Seo
Moe Tsukui
Suzuka Nakashima
Kanna Hayashi
Wear Harada
Minori Yamamoto
Uta Kataoka
Haruka Hirotsu
Mana Furuta
Komachi Imakugi
Honoka Tsunokawa
Maiko Nishi
Sora Nishimura