Asian Rugby 7s Teams ready for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

The Rugby Sevens at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gets underway on Monday 26th July 2021, with the men’s competition seeing hosts, Japan, face reigning Olympic champions Fiji at 09:00 local time (GMT+9) in Tokyo. We look at the Asian teams who are ready for the Games to get underway.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Rugby Sevens pools were confirmed by World Rugby on June 28 2021 for the 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams. These were done “according to rankings based upon performances in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and other World Rugby-sanctioned tournaments over the past two years.” said the governing body.

Each of the six days of action at the Tokyo 2020 Games is split into two sessions with six matches involving all 12 teams taking place during each session of the early stages of both the men’s and women’s competitions. The finals sessions will include four matches and the victory ceremony.

The men’s competition will culminate with the gold medal match at 18:00 local time on 28 July 2021. The women’s rugby 7s  tournament will take place from 29-31 July 2021 with the gold medal match taking place on ‘Super Saturday’ (31 July 2021).

All the rugby will take place at Tokyo Stadium, which hosted the Rugby World Cup 2019 opening and bronze medal matches.

The full match schedule is available here.

Image Credit: JRFU

Japan Men 7s Rugby – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Japan men’s coach Kensuke Iwabuchi said: “I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who have supported us and helped us to play at Tokyo 2020. There is a lot of pressure on the players who play in the Olympics in Tokyo. There was a lot of pressure on the Japanese players during Rugby World Cup 2019 too. I’m confident that I have selected players who can perform while enjoying the pressure.”

Japan are in Group B with Fiji, Great Britain, and Canada.

Japan Men’s 7s Rugby Squad

• Colin Raijin Bourk
• Yoshikazu Fujita
• Kazushi Hano
• Brackin Henry
• Masakatsu Hikosaka
• Kippei Ishida
• Ryota Kano
• Chihito Matsui (captain)
• Naoki Motomura
• Kameli Raravou Latianara Soejima
• Jose Seru
• Lote Tuqiri

Photo Credit: Korea Rugby Union

Republic of Korea Men 7s Rugby – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Charles Louw and Seo Chun Oh will coach the Korean men at the Games after they qualified by beating Asian contenders Hong Kong in sudden-death extra-time. Jang Jeongmin scored the winning try with the final play in the qualifier semifinal against China and could be a star for Korea.

Korea is in Group A with New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina.

Republic of Korea Men’s 7s Rugby Squad

• Andre Jin Coquillard
• Kim Hyunsoo
• Jang Jeongmin
• Lee Jinkyu
• Han Kunkyu
• Kim Gwong Min
• Kim Namuk
• Lee Seongbae
• Choi Seongdeok
• Jang Seongmin
• Park Wanyong (captain)
• Jeong Yeonsik
• Chang Yongheung

Photo credit: Asia Rugby

Japan Women’s 7s Rugby – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Coached by kiwi Hare Makiri, Rinka Matsuda is the player to keep an eye on for the hosts. With a World Series debut in Kitakyushu in 2019, Matsuda is only 19 years old and can light up the game for Japan. The Sakura Sevens Co-captains are Mayu Shimizu and Bativakalolo Raichelmiyo.

Japan find themselves in Group C with the other Asian hopefuls, China, as well as the USA and Australia.

Japan Women’s 7s Rugby Squad

• Rachiel Bativakalolo (co-captain)
• Wakaba Hara
• Yume Hirano
• Haruka Hirotsu
• Marin Kajiki
• Mifuyu Koide
• Rinka Matsuda
• Hana Nagata
• Mei Ohtani
• Mayu Shimizu (co-captain)
• Miyu Shirako
• Honoka Tsutsumi

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby

China Women’s 7s Rugby – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Coached by Euan Mackintosh, the Chinese women make their debut in Tokyo. Chen Keyi has been earmarked as a player to watch and is one of China’s most experienced and exciting players, She scored nine tries as China booked their ticket to Tokyo 2020 via the Asian qualifier in Guangzhou.

China Women’s 7s Rugby Squad

• Chen Keyi
• Gu Yaoyao
• Liu Ziaoqian
• Ruan Hongting
• Tang Minglin
• Wang Wanyu
• Wu Juan
• Xu Xiaoyan
• Yan Meiling
• Yang Feifei
• Yang Min (captain)
• Yu Liping
• Yu Xiaoming

Asia Rugby Match Officials –  Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Shao-ing Wang (Singapore Rugby Union) has been appointed Judicial/Appeal Officers for Rugby 7s at the Olympics in Tokyo, while Japan’s Nori Hashimoto will perform the role of Assistant Referee (AR) at the Games and Matt Rodden from the HKRU will be a match official/referee.

Photo Credit: SRU – Shao-ing Wang (Singapore Rugby Union)

Where can I watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Asia?

If you want to watch the Rugby 7s at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Asia, here is a list of broadcasters for the Olympics in the region:

Rugby Competitions

• New Rugby Tournaments to Watch 2021-2022.
• Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Rugby Sevens Match Schedule.
• Hong Kong and Singapore Sevens 2021.
• Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy 2021.