Japanese rugby union and sevens player
Rugby player
Rinka Matsuda
Date of birth (2001-12-05 ) 5 December 2001 (age 23) Place of birth Tokyo, Japan [ 1] Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) Weight 73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb) Position(s)
Fullback Years
Team
Apps
(Points) ?–Present
Japan
6
(0) Years
Team
Comps 2019–Present
Japan
Rinka Matsuda (born 5 December 2001) is a Japanese rugby union and sevens player. She competed for Japan at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup and for the Japanese women's sevens team at the 2024 Summer Olympics .
Rugby career
Sevens
In 2019, Matsuda was just a 17 year old third-year high school student when she made her international sevens debut.[ 2] [ 3] Japan leg of the 2018–19 Women's Sevens Series in Kitakyushu , she started in all three of Japan 's matches.[ 2] [ 3]
She was initially expected to make her Olympic debut in her home city for the 2020 Olympics , but was replaced a week before the Games due to injury.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
In 2023, She was a member of the side that won a silver medal at the delayed 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou , China .[ 5] Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris .[ 7] [ 8]
XVs
In 2022, She scored a try in Japan 's historic 29–10 win over Ireland ahead of the World Cup.[ 9] [ 10] 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand .[ 11] [ 12]
Personal life
Her father is former Japanese international, Tsutomu Matsuda , who represented Japan in fifteens and sevens .[ 2] [ 5]
References
