International & Sevens — Friday 24 April 2026

The Japanese women’s squad navigated a highly uneven run at the HSBC SVNS World Championship, kicking off the historic 50-year tournament with a decisive 12–5 victory over Fiji. After that initial success, they faced the brute force of New Zealand, suffering a heavy 38–7 defeat that immediately soured the mood. However, the Sakura Sevens quickly rebounded, delivering a masterful performance 34–7 when they dismantled the emerging South American force of Brazil. Their tournament aspirations led them to the Cup Quarter Final, where they struggled against an in-form French side, falling 12–22 despite finding the scoreboard in the second half. The struggle repeated itself in the Fifth-Place Playoff against the USA, who saw Japan go into the half-time break with a concerning 10-point deficit. While the Japanese women posted a solid second-half effort to score two more tries, the deficit proved insurmountable, ending their campaign. The sheer magnitude of the required effort across the week—from the wins over Fiji and Brazil to the struggle against France and the USA—highlights the fierce level of competition at the world’s premier sevens fixture.