ExplainerJapan’s Olympics rugby teams: biography, star players, shocking New Zealand and repeating dream World Cup run at Tokyo Games

Brave Blossoms hope to repeat stunning 2016 Rio Games outing, while the Sakura Sevens search for domestic recognition

Could a strong home performance reinspire a country that adored the sport during the 2019 World Cup?

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Japan players with the home fans after beating Ireland in a 2019 Rugby World Cup pool match in Fukuroi, Japan in 2019.

Published: 1:46pm, 24 Jun 2021Updated: 1:46pm, 24 Jun 2021

Japan’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games rugby teams have the opportunity to match the men’s 15s Rugby World Cup heroics of two years ago and further cement the nation as the next rugby hub.

Though the Brave Blossoms and Sakura Sevens automatically qualified for next month’s Games as the home nation, they have proven time and again to be one of Asia’s top teams and are certainly worthy of a spot.

Anticipation was red hot for rugby at the Tokyo Games, with fans well in the mood after the men’s 15s famous wins against Ireland and Scotland to reach the 2019 Japan World Cup quarter-finals. The men’s sevens team had experienced quite the anticlimax months earlier, though, after learning they were relegated as a World Rugby Sevens Series core member.

Since the Games’ postponement due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is fair to say local excitement for rugby has – as with most things – dampened. But a successful home showing may just be the catalyst the Japan Rugby Football Union needs to get everyone back on the hype train.

Japan players celebrate their win at a Rugby World Cup pool B match against South Africa at the Brighton Community Stadium, England in 2015. Photo: AP

From Rio to Tokyo