Mana Furuta
| Date of birth | 16 November 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mana Furuta (古田真菜 born 16 November 1997) is a Japanese rugby union and sevens player. She plays centre for the Japan women's national rugby union team.[1] She competed for Japan at the 2021 Rugby World Cup.
Early career
[edit]Furuta is a native of Fukuoka Prefecture and her father also played rugby.[2]
Rugby career
[edit]Furuta debuted for Japan at the age of 18 during the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship.[3] She missed the 2017 Rugby World Cup, but returned to the team in 2019.[3]
In November 2021, she was part of the team that was announced for the end-of-year tour of Europe, where she scored her first test try in her sides narrow defeat to Ireland.[3]
In 2020, she began her professional career playing for Arukas Queen Kumagaya's sevens team.[2] She then joined Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix in 2021 and was on loan to the Brumbies Women in 2022.[2][3][4] She was chosen by her teammates for the Helen Taylor Award after an outstanding season for the Brumbies.[5][6]
She featured for Japan at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup that was held in New Zealand.[7][8]
In 2023, she was named in the Sakura XV's side for the Asia Rugby Championship in Kazakhstan.[9] She was a member of the side that narrowly beat Italy for the first time in September.[10][11] In October, she was selected for the side for the inaugural 2023 WXV 2 tournament in South Africa.[12][13]
2024 saw her make the Sakura's squad again for the Asia Rugby Championship in Hong Kong.[14][15] In 2025, she was named in the Sakura fifteens squad for their tour to the United States.[16] She eventually started in the test against the Eagles in Los Angeles on 26 April 2025, they won 39–33.[17][18]
References
[edit]- ^ "The building and blossoming of The Sakura Fifteen". rugbypass.com. 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ a b c "Mana Furuta eager to help bring women's rugby into spotlight in Japan". The Japan Times. 2022-04-30. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ a b c d "Five Super W 2022 stars who could light up Rugby World Cup 2021". world.rugby. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Japanese duo, Mana and Makoto prepares for rugby World Cup under the support of Brumbies Super W". SBS Language. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Alaalatoa claims third Brett Robinson Players' Player of the Year Award". Huge Rugby News. 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ Media, Newstime (2022-07-22). "Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa wins Players' Player". Canberra Weekly. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "RWC 2022 – USA vs Japan – ARN Guide". Americas Rugby News. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Japan Women's Rugby World Cup Squad 2022 – Japan 8-21 Italy". Rugby World. 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Japan cruise into WXV 2 as Asia women's champions". women.rugby. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Record Historic Victory Over Italy". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ Perkins, Bruce (2023-10-01). "Five Down – Italy v Japan". 4 The Love Of Sport. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Squad Announced for Inaugural WXV 2". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ "WXV 2: Anticipation builds for South Africa as squads named | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen's 26-member squad". Asia Rugby. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
- ^ "Japan Squad Announced for Asia Rugby Women's Championship 2024". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
- ^ "Sakura Fifteen Squad Announced for USA Tour". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2025-04-15. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sakura Fifteen Team Announced for USA Eagles Clash". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sakura Fifteen Defeat USA Eagles in LA Epic". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)