In the sevens rugby sevens, both men and women lost in the qualifying league at the Tokyo Olympics, men's coach Kensuke Iwabuchi and women's coach Halle Makiri will each retire due to the expiration of their terms.

The Japanese national rugby team of sevens who participated in the Tokyo Olympics lost all in the qualifying league for both men and women, and the boys were 11th out of 12 teams and the girls were 12th out of 12 teams.

The Japan Rugby Union announced on the 11th that it has been decided to retire on the 11th without extending the contract for both the male director Iwabuchi and the female director Makiri.



Director Iwabuchi was the general manager of the Japanese national team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where Japan won the 4th place, but since 2018 he has led the boys aiming for the first medal.



At the press conference, Iwabuchi said, "Although there were difficulties such as the lack of opportunities for actual battles overseas, the quality of the players has definitely improved compared to the previous tournament. The results at the Olympic Games can be a challenging attempt. It was because of my lack of ability that I couldn't recover the difficult team. "



"Rugby sevens still has a small competitive population, and there are many issues that need to be resolved in order to strengthen it, such as concurrently serving as a 15-player rugby team. I want you to cheer me on. "



On the other hand, female coach Makiri has taken on the challenge of building a team centered on young players in the unusual situation of suddenly assuming the position of coach in December last year, seven months before the Tokyo Olympics.



Makiri said, "I have done my best in difficult challenges. I have been aiming to be competitive with the world's top players in terms of feelings and to compete with strong opponents with innovative tactics. I'm sorry I couldn't get the result, and I'm grateful for all the support. "



The Japan Rugby Union has begun to select new directors for both men and women.