 | |||
| Nicknames |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Sakura | ||
| Union | Japan Rugby Football Union | ||
| Head coach | Eddie Jones | ||
| Captain | Michael Leitch | ||
| Most caps | Hitoshi Ono (98) | ||
| Top scorer | Ayumu Goromaru (708) | ||
| Top try scorer | Daisuke Ohata (69) | ||
| Home stadium | Japan National Stadium Chichibunomiya Stadium | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 14 (as of 28 August 2023) | ||
| Highest | 7 (2019) | ||
| Lowest | 20 (2003, 2006) | ||
| First international | |||
 Japan 9–8 Canada  (Osaka, Japan; 31 January 1932) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Japan 155–3 Chinese Taipei  (Tokyo, Japan; 1 July 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 New Zealand 145–17 Japan (Bloemfontein, South Africa; 4 June 1995) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 10 (First in 1987) | ||
| Best result | Quarter-finals (2019) | ||
| Website | en.rugby-japan.jp (in English) | ||
The Japan national rugby union team, also known as the Cherry Blossoms, the Brave Blossoms (Japanese: ブレイブ・ブロッサムズ, romanized: Bureibu burossamuzu), or simply Sakura, represents Japan in men's international rugby union. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC). They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup (RWC) since the tournament began in 1987, and hosted the event in 2019.
Rugby was first played in Japan's treaty ports as early as 1866. Popular participation by local university teams was established in 1899 and Japan's first recorded international match was a match against a Canadian team in 1932. Notable games for Japan include a victory over the Junior All Blacks in 1968, and a narrow 6–3 loss to England in 1971. Famous wins by Japan include a 28–24 victory over a Scotland XV in 1989 and a 23–8 victory over Wales in 2013. In 2011, Japan displayed its progress by winning the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup, played against Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Further progress was displayed in 2014 when Japan completed a string of ten consecutive test wins (a record for a tier 2 team) to rank in the world's top 10 teams.[1] This continued into 2015 where they produced the first of their three biggest upsets when, in a Rugby World Cup pool match against South Africa, they won 34–32.[2][3][4]
In the years between, Japan faced quality opposition, playing relatively well with solid results including a tie against France, and a narrow loss to Wales at Cardiff. Their second shock win was a 19–12 defeat of world number-two ranked Ireland in a 2019 Rugby World Cup pool game. Emerging undefeated from the tournament's pool stage after a 28–21 victory over Scotland, Japan made their first-ever World Cup quarter-final appearance, going down 3–26 to eventual world champions South Africa.[5][6]
- ^ "Brave Blossoms break into top ten". irb.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ "Japan pull off greatest shock in World Cup history". ESPN. 19 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup: Japan's Shocking Upset Commands Attention". The New York Times. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "Japan beat South Africa". The Guardian. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Joyous fans roar Japan to thrilling win and place in the knockouts". Rugby World Cup. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ "Springboks 'push the right buttons' to end Japan's party". Rugby World Cup. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.