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Japan and Spain: Where are they three weeks before the World Cup?
The Taiyo Life Japan Rugby Challenger Series 2025 has come to a close, with Japan earning back-to-back wins over Spain, giving the Sakura a strong boost ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
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Lesley McKenzie‘s team, currently on a five-game winning streak, opened the series with a 32-19 victory and went on to back it up with a 30-19 win this past weekend.
Given that both sides will play in Pool C alongside higher ranked Ireland and New Zealand at the World Cup, we assess how the underdogs faired against each other during these World Cup warm-ups and the assets of each side.
Japan
The Sakura looked strong up front and have a threatening maul. Their maul drive was key to unlocking the door to Spain’s in-goal area, claiming five of the 10 tries scored by the hosts, a major progression that can be used as a trump card in four weeks’ time agains their pool opponents.
Hookers Asuke Kuge and Kotomi Taniguchi’s pitch-perfect lineout darts made a difference to how their team made a consistent advance towards point-scoring land, as the lineout was involved in 90% of the tries scored by the Sakura.
The home side’s pinpoint precision and relentless way of operating off set piece, especially the maul drive kept the Leonas at bay, stopping the visitors from having a breather and injecting pace and speed into the contests.
While Japan’s set-piece was truly a sight to behold, they will need to polish their game management before travelling to England. The home team won the first two games by 11 and 12 points, but in the final match, they let Spain cut a 20-point lead to 11 due to lapses in discipline and ball possession.
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Scrum-half Moe Tsukui’s game managing expertise was crucial to how the hosts built a comfortable lead in the second game of the series, but once she was subbed off, there was a slight decline in how her team operated. Tsukui’s vision and sense of opportunity made Japan a more threatening and mature side, but no side can guarantee their key players will always be fit and available, so this could be a chink in their armour.
Nonetheless, Japan’s comeback in the series opener, recovering from 13-19 down to recover 32-19 in the final quarter of the game was impressive, all thanks to how they refocused and made their game plan pay off.
Spain
When there were glimpses of magic and illusion, the Leonas were able to break through the Japanese ironclad defence, making good ground and setting up some of the best tries of the series.
Nuria Jou’s pick-and-go try came after a sensational team move, with Claudia Peña, Claudia Pérez, Amalia Argudo and Anne Corres linking up to take their team from their own half to Japan’s try-area.
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Four of the six tries scored by Spain came from an attacking move that sought to speed up the ball and create a confusing frenzy for the opposition, allowing Spain to create a line break and critical try scoring opportunities.
Yes, taking risks can come with some downsides, as a missed pass/kick can lead to a turnover and open the door for a menacing counter-attack.
If the Leonas can find consistency and piece together a more confident passing strategy, they will inch closer to pulling off a shock come late August.
While Spain made some good ground in a handful of areas, their lineout is certainly a worry with just a few weeks to go until their first World Cup game.
Although the Leonas bagged four tries that had the lineout as the starting point, they lost 35% of their own lineout throws, spoiling more than a couple of try scoring opportunities and allowing Japan a foothold in the game.
However, every time Spain got their lineout to work, it trampolined them into a strong tactical position to hurt Japan, allowing Argudo to set up the right plays at the right time.
Spain also have the benefit of a good mix of players including youngsters such as Peña who bring excitement and flare and more experienced heads such as Laura Delgado Dueñas who this weekend reached the 50 cap mark. The Spanish captain made her debut in 2016 and only needs to feature in three more games to become the fifth most capped Leona of all time.
If Spain can sort out their set-piece before the World Cup, combined with their unpredictable attack and muscled defence, they can become a problem for the likes of Japan, Ireland and the Black Ferns.