Mele Yua Havili Kagawa

Last updated
Mele Yua Havili Kagawa
Born (2001-09-29) 29 September 2001 (age 24)
Height171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb; 11 st 11 lb)
Rugby union career
Position Wing
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2024– Nanairo Prism Fukuoka
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2024– Japan 7 (25)
National sevens team
YearsTeamComps
Japan 7s

Mele Yua Havili Kagawa (born 29 September 2001) is a Japanese rugby union player. She competed for Japan at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Contents

Early career

Kagawa was born to a Tongan father and a Japanese mother, she started playing rugby at the age of 8. [1] She also participated in swimming from the fourth to sixth grade of elementary school, she competed in the freestyle category and took part in the Junior Olympics. [1] [2] She took up athletics in junior high school to develop her speed and recorded a personal best time of 12.9 seconds in the 100 metres, she won the prefectural relay championship. [1]

In 2020, after graduating from Kumagaya Girls' High School, she enrolled at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University. [3] After she graduated from university, she studied abroad in New Zealand and the United States. [3]

Rugby career

Sevens

Kagawa was still in high school when she made her international sevens debut for Japan at 17. [1] [2] She was selected as a backup member for the side to the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. [4] She joined Nanairo Prism Fukuoka in 2024. [3]

XVs

Kagawa switched to playing fifteens in 2024 and initially started out in the Back row. [3] She scored a try in her test debut for Japan as a Winger against Hong Kong in May during the 2024 Asia Rugby Championship. [3] [5] She has played for Arukas Queen Kumagaya. [2]

In July 2025, she scored two tries against Spain in the second game of their two-test series. [6] [7] On 28 July, she was subsequently named in the Japanese side to the Women's Rugby World Cup in England. [8] [9]

Personal life

Kagawa's father, Tuanaki Havili Kaufusi, played as Number 8 for Otsuka Hake. [1] [3] In 2023, she visited Tonga for the first time in 12 years. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "18歳女子高生は７人制ラグビー日本代表。「東京五輪で金メダル！」 (4ページ目)". 集英社 スポルティーバ 公式サイト web Sportiva (in Japanese). 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  2. 1 2 3 "【推薦組2020】早稲田大学ラグビー部 メンバーと注目選手". らぐびと | なんくるナイトのラグビー応援ブログ (in Japanese). 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "香川 メレ優愛ハヴィリ | ラグビー女子日本代表選手名鑑 | 日本代表 | ラグビー | J SPORTS【公式】". www.jsports.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  4. ↑ "東京2020オリンピック競技大会 ラグビー男子日本代表内定選手・ラグビー女子日本代表内定選手決定のお知らせ｜日本ラグビーフットボール協会". www.rugby-japan.jp (in Japanese). 2021-06-19. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  5. ↑ McNamara, Paul (2024-05-22). "Hong Kong's women target 'much better level' after ARC defeat to Japan". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  6. ↑ "Sakura Fifteen Side Named for Spain Match". Japan Rugby Football Union. 2025-09-06. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  7. ↑ "Sakura 15 Claim Taiyo Life JAPAN RUGBY CHALLENGE SERIES 2025 With Spanish Win". RugbyAsia247. 2025-07-27. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  8. ↑ "Japan announce squad for women's RWC 2025". Rugby World Cup. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Sakura Fifteen Rugby World Cup Squad Announced". Japan Rugby Football Union. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
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