Sakura Mizutani – On Levelling Up as a Professional Player

Sakura Mizutani is a professional player with Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix who has already represented Japan Sakura 7s at the Rugby World Cup 7s, Olympics, SVNS Series and the Asia Rugby Sevens Series. She started playing rugby when she was ten years old and has her eyes set on another exciting season for club and country.

“I started playing rugby when I was 10 years old for my hometown club team. I have always loved sports, and I have been wrestling since I was three years old. So I liked tackling and the physical side of rugby, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Sakura joined the Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix after playing in High School. She was recommended to the club as it had a good reputation and was based in Tokyo. “I went to see Phoenix in 2022, and I could see they were a really good team. I knew it was a club I could level up at.”

She drops in the gaming reference a few times, and levelled up she has. She made her debut for the Japanese women’s national 7s team, the Sakura 7s, the same year, and her trajectory as an elite rugby 7s athlete has been a meteoric one. She is ambitious.

“When I started playing, I wanted to go to the Olympics. I trained hard at every session.” She was selected as part of the squad that went to play at Paris 2024, which meant she realised one of her goals. “I was really happy – it was my dream come true.”

She has also since then played for the Japan XVs team, although she was not selected to play at the recent Rugby World Cup 2025 in England. 

“After the Olympics, I was selected as a Sakura 15, and I went to WXV with them. I learned a lot. I had not played 15s since I was in New Zealand in high school, attending Hamilton Girls’ High School.” 

She mentioned that so casually, but it was a huge achievement to make the move to Rugby-obsessed New Zealand and play at a high-calibre school as a teenager, where she also won titles. 

“I spent two years there. I didn’t know much English and I didn’t speak at all. They were very nice to me and taught me English, but overall, it was a great experience for me. I went to a few national tournaments and we were 15s champions, which was a great memory for me.”

I Want To Keep Learning And Go to Another Olympics and A First XVs Rugby World Cup – Sakura Mizutani 

Sakura fast forwards to now, where she is in contention for the national setup and playing in the domestic Japanese season for the Phoenix. She was also one of 5 Phoenix players who signed for French Club USAP Féminin last season, following the two clubs’ signing an agreement in November 2024.

“I learned so many things while playing overseas and with the national team. And Sevens and 15s are very different. I play flanker at Phoenix, but in this year’s Asia Rugby Championship, I played at number eight for the Sakura XV, which was a surprise. I didn’t know how to play number eight, so I was a little bit nervous to play the position.”

Japan won the title again and beat both Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China along the way. Sakura says she prefers playing as a flank when it comes to 15s rugby. “I like tackling and jackaling. And I have more space to run with the ball, which I enjoy.”

This season, she is unsure how involved she will be with the Phoenix, as she is hopeful of being selected for the Sakura 7s for the opening two rounds of the HSBC SVNS Series in Dubai and Cape Town. She said, “It’s gonna be hard this season, but we are training, training, training. I want to contribute to the national team and the Phoenix”.

Of her goals, she is adamant about making the Sakura 7s and heading to her second Olympics in LA in 2028. “I want to go to the Olympics again and win a gold medal. I also want to go to a Women’s XVs World Cup in the future.”

She said the Sevens national team wants to improve on last season, in which they made their first-ever semifinal on an SVNS leg. “We’ve never been to a final. So this year, we will try to go one step further and make a final. We want to get a gold medal this year.”

On playing and training at the highest level as a professional player, she explained, “It’s hard to keep a positive mindset. That is very important. If I think negatively, it’s gonna impact me mentally. So I need to keep thinking positively and work very hard. My family’s support is very important to me. I talk to my mom, and she always gives me positive support, and I have a positive family.”

She said that her mother and grandmother came to see her play in Paris at the Olympics in 2025, which was special to her and her family. 

Her one message to anyone wanting to aim to play at the highest level is “Trust yourself. Then keep working hard, and you need to think positively.”

Sakura has been with the Japanese team in camp, and was announced on November 24th to be included in the Sakura 7s team for the opening leg of the HSBC Dubai 7s and is flying there this week.

Japan Sakura 7s are in the same pool as Australia, Canada, and Great Britain.

Rugby Asia 247 has entered a content agreement with the Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix club and will be bringing you player, coach, and staff interviews until 2026.

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