Former international sevens player, Yoko Suzuki, is now sharing her passion for rugby in coaching roles at international and club level in Japan.
Having represented Japan in both 15-a-side and sevens rugby, Suzuki’s playing career was ended by injury in 2023.
But she had already taken her first steps into coaching before her retirement was confirmed, having started by introducing children to the sport through sessions at primary schools.
“I realised that I wanted to be a coach when I first started teaching rugby to primary school children. I really enjoyed it, and the opportunity to be able to grow every day,” Suzuki told World Rugby.
Her development accelerated with Suzuki’s participation in the Gallagher High Performance Academy in 2023, and she has returned for 2024, relishing the prospect of working with other talented female coaches from across the world.
“Being given coaching opportunities and receiving lots of feedback really helped me grow,” Suzuki told World Rugby.
“It was great to learn about coaching in a high-performance environment, as I’d love to become a coach who can make Japanese rugby more globally competitive than it is now.”
“I would like to share what I’ve learnt and use my experience to hopefully go to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 as a coach.
“I am looking forward to again working with all the coaches, unions and colleagues to develop and improve ourselves, change the culture and meet the aspirations for women in high performance coaching,” she said.
“I want this to be an opportunity to learn more and grow.”
Suzuki’s own coaching role model is former Canada hooker Lesley McKenzie, who was briefly assistant coach of Japan’s women’s sevens team, before being appointed head coach of the national team, ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand.
“I admire her strong will and her honesty,” Suzuki said.