Yokohama Local Playmaker for the Women’s Sevens Rugby National Team Ayaka Suzuki

Born in Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, on September 30, 1989. Ms. Suzuki started playing tag rugby when she was in the third grade of Yokohama City Shioiri Elementary School. In 2010, she was appointed captain of the women’s sevens rugby national team and has since played well in many tournaments.
Records (2011)
IRB Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Championships: 4th place
Singapore Cricket Sevens: Won
Asian Games: 5th place

–Playing with Friends in Elementary School Days

When I was in elementary school, I loved tree climbing and dodgeball and always played with my big brother and other boys. When I started playing tug rugby, it felt more like playing tag with my friends than a sport. Boys and girls, older kids and younger ones – they were all really good friends and we enjoyed playing all kinds of sport.

–What I Like about Rugby Is That I Can Choose What to Do Myself

I’m now the stand-off, which is the playmaking position, and I can choose what action to take, like pass or kick, according to the circumstances of the game. At first, making these decisions was difficult and I had to leave a lot to other members of the team. But as I played more matches, some kind of game theory formed in my mind. Now I feel really great when my tactic works.

–Stimulation from Nadeshiko Japan

Recently, Japan’s national women soccer team “Nadeshiko Japan” has been playing amazing games, proving that Japanese female players can compete with bigger foreign players on equal terms. Their success has motivated us to win a medal in the Olympics five years from now by taking advantage of agility and nimbleness, which are the traits of the Japanese. I’m already very excited about the Olympic Games.

 

Women’s Sevens Rugby Trial to Be Held
Perky Girls Are Welcome!

The Kanagawa Rugby Football Union will hold a physical strength measuring event and a workshop on sevens rugby under the slogan “Women’s Sevens Rugby Trial for Future Members of Rugby Nadeshiko Japan.” The event is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on November 3 (Thursday and national holiday) at the YC&AC sports club (10-minute walk from JR Yamate Station). (The event is to be held even in light rain; there is no participation fee.)

Women in many age brackets, from junior high school pupils to college students, and inexperienced novices are welcome. For information about application and other details, call the Kanagawa Rugby Football Union at 045-504-7607. Participants are asked to wear clothes and shoes suitable for athletic activities.

 

Sevens rugby (seven-player game) is played under the same rules and on a field of the same dimensions as the 15-player game. Since there are fewer players to cover the wide field, there is often a lot of ball movement with fluid play. Players need to have speed, agility, ball-handling skill and stamina.

The history of sevens rugby in Japan is old, dating back to 1930 when a bachelors’ rugby club held a competition at Jingu Stadium for the first time in this country. In 1959, the YC&AC (Yokohama Country and Athletic Club) in Naka Ward, Yokohama, started to host an event known as “YC&AC JAPAN SEVENS,” which still continues as a prestigious contest.

Since there are fewer players, scrums are formed with three players per side.
Photo: Match between Japan’s Sevens National Team and Kanagawa Tamariba Sevens

The 15-player game involves players pushing against members of the other team to move the ball forward while, in the seven-player game, players try to score a goal by running through an open field.

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