Date of birth | 13 November 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kanako Kobayashi (born 13 November 1998) is a Japanese rugby union player. She plays at center for Japan's women's national rugby union team.
Kobayashi started playing as a nine year old because there was a rugby pitch near her home in Fujisawa. [1] Her parents were also rugby fans and always encouraged her. [1] She had earned a coveted spot at a high school renowned for producing rugby players in Shimane Prefecture, she then joined Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo, which also happened to have the strongest women’s team in Japan. [1]
In 2021, Kobayashi became the fourth Japanese woman to play professionally in England. She signed a one-year contract with the Exeter Chiefs, she joined them straight from the Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars in Japan. [2] [1] In her first season, she scored four tries in 16 appearances and helped Exeter win the Allianz Cup. [3] [4] She missed the entire 2022–23 Premier 15s season due to a serious knee injury. [3] [4]
Kobayashi is set to make a return to Exeter for the upcoming 2023–24 Premiership Rugby season. [3] [4]
Kobayashi was named in the Sakura fifteens tour of Europe in 2019, and made her test debut in the draw with Italy on 16 November. [5] [6] [7]
In 2021, she was named in Japan's squad for their Autumn Test series in November. [8] She was named on the bench for the test against Wales, but started in the matches against Scotland and Ireland. [9] [10] [11]
On 10 September 2023, Kobayashi scored a try against Fiji in the first test of the Taiyo Seimei Challenge Series; she also made an appearance in the second test. [12] [13] She was then named in the Sakura fifteens side for the inaugural WXV 2 tournament that was held in South Africa in October. [14] [15] She was in the starting line up in the opening match against Italy, and was moved from inside to outside-centre against Samoa for the second round. [16] [17] She was then injured in the final match against Scotland in the 26th minute. [18]
Date of birth | 13 November 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kanako Kobayashi (born 13 November 1998) is a Japanese rugby union player. She plays at center for Japan's women's national rugby union team.
Kobayashi started playing as a nine year old because there was a rugby pitch near her home in Fujisawa. [1] Her parents were also rugby fans and always encouraged her. [1] She had earned a coveted spot at a high school renowned for producing rugby players in Shimane Prefecture, she then joined Nippon Sport Science University in Tokyo, which also happened to have the strongest women’s team in Japan. [1]
In 2021, Kobayashi became the fourth Japanese woman to play professionally in England. She signed a one-year contract with the Exeter Chiefs, she joined them straight from the Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars in Japan. [2] [1] In her first season, she scored four tries in 16 appearances and helped Exeter win the Allianz Cup. [3] [4] She missed the entire 2022–23 Premier 15s season due to a serious knee injury. [3] [4]
Kobayashi is set to make a return to Exeter for the upcoming 2023–24 Premiership Rugby season. [3] [4]
Kobayashi was named in the Sakura fifteens tour of Europe in 2019, and made her test debut in the draw with Italy on 16 November. [5] [6] [7]
In 2021, she was named in Japan's squad for their Autumn Test series in November. [8] She was named on the bench for the test against Wales, but started in the matches against Scotland and Ireland. [9] [10] [11]
On 10 September 2023, Kobayashi scored a try against Fiji in the first test of the Taiyo Seimei Challenge Series; she also made an appearance in the second test. [12] [13] She was then named in the Sakura fifteens side for the inaugural WXV 2 tournament that was held in South Africa in October. [14] [15] She was in the starting line up in the opening match against Italy, and was moved from inside to outside-centre against Samoa for the second round. [16] [17] She was then injured in the final match against Scotland in the 26th minute. [18]