2025 Tournaments – Phil Greening On Planning Ahead for the Japan Men’s Sevens Team

rugbyasia247 Posted On February 26, 2025

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Japan Men’s Sevens SDS Team - Vancouver SVNS 2025

Phil Greening in his capacity as the Japan Men’s Sevens Head Coach has been hard at work building structures, the talent pool, and changing perceptions of the benefits of Sevens to the JRLO clubs in Japan.

In addition to the number of tournaments the Sevens and SDS sides have competed in, February saw Japan take a side to Vancouver SVNS for an invitational tournament, before heading to South Africa for the opening two legs of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025 – with the aim of securing a top 8 finish to compete in the 3rd leg to be held in Poland in April.

“It’s been brilliant, and if we can get a consistent pool of players, we can take these tournaments and go there and use them as development tools. It’s great that Canada’s offered to do this, and it’s important that we do it. So the more we can plan for our development squad, the more game time, we can get them the better for everyone. So that’s what I’m trying to do,” said Phil Greening.

They will also face Hong Kong China, and China in the invitational Melrose Claymores Challenge at the 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at the end of March 2025.

“What I want to have is a sort of a waterfall effect, where all the techniques and all the terminology and all the philosophies, everything gets watered down into the younger players. So the more I can get a hold of the younger guys, the easier it’s going to become and we can fast track their development, not just for us, but their pathways for fifteens.

We know 7s and 15s are different and we’re under the microscope. But when you look at the games now in sevens rugby, there is so much more contact, more rucks, there are systems, there’s players doing two or three-phase plays, there’s planning, in that sense It’s just like fifteens. The players are getting developed by us and we will produce a player that’s consistently good at the technical skills, but he’s going to be bloody fit.”

My technical director has taken on my vision and he’s so supportive. We decided that there were these opportunities that we kept getting asked to and I said, ‘Okay, let’s take them, even if they clash with some of our preparations for for the Challenger. If we can get more boys’ game time, then we can build this waterfall effect, and we can build this consistency development.”

Photo Credit – JRFU – Japan Men’s Sevens SDS Team – Vancouver SVNS 2025

In early February, the Japanese men had a camp with the Hong Kong China 7s men’s team to give everyone a chance to train and perform. After the camp, Phil and his staff will select the two squads. One team went to Vancouver led by the technical director, and the other squad stayed with Greening to prepare for the Challenger in Cape Town.

Greening told us, “There’s something to play for, for everyone. Our camps become very competitive, and competition is very, very good for us to develop. That’s been brilliant.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025

With the pools since announced for the first leg in Cape Town, the Japanese men will face Germany and Georgia in Pool A.

Greening said of the format in Cape Town, “We do know the teams we are prepping for in our pool. The format means it’s life or death – if we top our pool, great. I know who we will get on the crossover, and I’m comfortable with that as well.

And if we finish top four, we’ll keep going forward. It is two games, we win that, then for the rest of it, I’m not that bothered, if I’m honest. The format’s a little different, and it’s challenging. I quite like the one-off games because we play two games and then we can get a semi-final – If we don’t make it, we’re still top four and LA, is the goal.

I’m hoping that I go to Poland, then into LA but I’m not expecting to go to Hong Kong. It’s important that we get this all aligned, and that development pathway for us and then move into the fifteens.”

Plans For The Rest of 2025 – Japan Men’s Sevens

Photo Credit – JRFU – Phil Greening Men’s 7s Head Coach

The Japan Men’s Sevens Head Coach said of 2025, “We’ve accepted the invitation to go to France for a competition and think New Zealand’s going, the Aussies and a few others. We’ll take teams which will be great in June, I think.

I’m hoping for that France tournament we get a few more League One clubs to release young players because they’ll be finished for the season – so then I can see what I can try and work with the clubs for the following season. If I can start looking and developing them for the clubs and us, then that’s important. So if I can take them to France, that’d be brilliant.

Hopefully, the Asian Series dates will be announced but I’m expecting it to be in the September – November window. So we’ll be back in the pre-season by August, so it’s, it’s all go. The big thing is consistency. I believe that consistency builds success. It’s important that we get a group of players coming through and we are consistent in our message and consistent in the development. There is major talent here – it is ridiculous.

The other area which is starting to take shape a little bit more now, is the strength & conditioning (S&C) which was a surprise for me in how behind it was, but that is an easy win, so we’re getting there.

The work ethic is brilliant, and we are helping build some foundations and building blocks. I think it’s just a mind shift that is needed, especially when I look at the young players in terms of building strength and conditioning.”

Rugby Asia 247 will be in Cape Town for the two HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025 legs so stay tuned.