Australia Sevens trio help Nagato Blue Angels secure four-peat

After a dominant season across the 2026 Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series, the Nagato Blue Angels stormed home to win the Grand Final Tournament at the Daiwa House Premist Dome in Sapporo.

The tournament win marks the sixth time the Blue Angels have held the trophy aloft – and the fourth consecutive time they have done so, confirming the stranglehold they have on the competition.

The Blue Angels however had to work for it in the final match of the tournament, facing a fast-finishing Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix who pushed the favourites thanks to strong showings from the likes of several Japanese HSBC SVNS Series players.

Of particular note was Rinka Matsuda, who scored six tries on the final day of action for the Phoenix, mirroring her form playing for the Sakura XV when they successfully defended their title at the Asia Rugby Emirates Women’s Championship earlier this year in Kazakhstan.

However, tries to Aussie 7s star Amahlia Hala, Sakurako Yazaki, Yume Hirano and Aussie 7s star Mackenzie Davis proved enough to get the Blue Angels over the line in the final, eventually winning 26-19 over the Phoenix.

For her efforts, Yazaki was awarded the Sapporo Series’ Most Valuable Player Award for her five tries scored, with McKenzie scoring four tries.

It ended a strong season for the Blue Angels, with fellow international stars Kahli Henwood, Fiji 7s star Ana Naimasi, Chinese 7s Olympian Chen Keyi, and Brazil 7s star Bianca Silva all impressing across the four rounds of action.

Blue Angels’ rivals Mie Pearls, after meeting the championship winners in multiple finals this year, ended up taking the bronze medal, overcoming Yokogawa Atremi-Stars, Prism Fukuoka and Yokohama TKM, with Nippon University and Arukas Kumagaya completing the top eight.

The other tournament of the weekend saw the bottom four sides of the regular season battle it out in a promotion/relegation play-off with the top sides of division two.

The results of the competition saw established sides in the JRFU Challenge Team, Japan Self-Defence Force, Hokkaido Barbarians Diana, and division two side Japan University of Economics AMATERUS confirm their positions for next year’s tournament, with Otemon Gakuin University relegated for 2027.