Yuna Sato
Japan international rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yuna Sato (born 11 September 1998) is a Japanese rugby union player. She plays Lock internationally for the Japan women's national rugby union team. She competed at the 2021 and the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cups.
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Sato during the 2025 Rugby World Cup in Northampton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 September 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
Sato featured in Japan's autumn international against Scotland in 2020.[1] In 2021, she was suspended for three weeks following Japan's match against Scotland on 14 November.[2][3]
Sato started in Japan's historic match against the Black Ferns at Eden Park ahead of the World Cup.[4] She was then named in Japan's squad for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and started in all three of their games.[5][6][7]
Sato signed with the Western Force for the 2023 Super W season.[5][8][9] She made her Super W debut for Western Force in their opening match against the NSW Waratahs.[10]
She was named in the Sakura XVs side for the 2024 Asia Rugby Championship.[11][12] Sato scored a try before half-time to help the Sakura's secure their spot at the 2025 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 WXV 2 tournament.[13][14]
In 2025, she was named in the Sakura fifteens squad for their tour to the United States.[15] She eventually started in her sides 39–33 victory over the Eagles in Los Angeles on 26 April.[16][17]
On 28 July 2025, she was named in the Japanese side to the Women's Rugby World Cup in England.[18][19]