Yuka Kanematsu Appointed Sakura Sevens Head Coach

As we had recently announced across our socials, the JRFU confirmed the appointment of a new Sakura 7s Head coach, with former player Yuka Kanematsu taking over from Takashi Suzuki.

Kanematsu has served as the Head Coach of the Women’s Sevens Youth Academy since 2019 and involved with the Sakura Sevens since 2023 as an Assistant Coach. As a player, she represented Sakura 7s at the Rio Olympic Games (28 7s caps in total), as well as playing for the Sakura XVs 13 times.

The new Sakura 7s Head Coach said, “I am thrilled to take on the position of Head Coach for the Sakura Sevens. It has been eight years since I competed with the team at the Rio Olympics, and I want to express my gratitude to all my Sakura Sevens colleagues who have been part of this journey from Rio to Tokyo and now Paris. My aim is to further inspire the passion of the Sakura Sevens as we continue to evolve and build on our successes on the world stage.”

The Sakura 7s most recently competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics where they finished in their best-ever position (9th) at the Olympic Games. They also claimed silver at the Asian Games and were runners-up in the ARSS behind China – who have become their most formidable opponents in Asia.

Both Japan and China will play the new HSBC SVNS Series but before then will compete in the 2024 Asia Rugby Sevens Series which gets underway on 7th September in South Korea in the first of three legs.

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Photo Credit: JRFU – Japan Sakura 7s – Paris 2024

Yuka Kanematsu’s coaching accolades include:

• Winner of World School Sevens 2022 U18 Women’s Sevens Development Squad
• Winner of the Asian Rugby Sevens Series 2023 Thailand (Acting Head Coach)
• Winner of the FISU World Student Sevens Championship 2024 – Women’s Sevens Student National Team

Rugby Sevens News

• Fans Guide To HSBC SVNS Series 2024-2025.
• Guide To The Asia Rugby 2024 International Tournaments.
• 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens – What You Need To Know.
• Alicia Lucas – 2024 Olympics Will Take Sevens Rugby To Even Greater Heights.