Nijiho Nagata

Nijiho Nagata ( 永田虹歩 born 6 December 2000) is a Japanese rugby union player, who plays hooker for the Japan women's national rugby union team.

Rugby career
In November 2021, she scored the first try that helped the Sakura's lead Scotland at halftime; however a late Scottish comeback saw her side lose 36–12. She competed at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

2023
She featured for Japan in the 2023 Asia Rugby Championship. She played for International Budo University and previously played for Auckland Storm in the Farah Palmer Cup.

In September 2023, she was named as a reserve in the test against Fiji in Japan. At the inaugural 2023 WXV 2 tournament, she scored Japan's only try in their defeat to Scotland.

2024
In 2024, Nagata joined the Blues Women in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition as an injury cover for Esther Faiaoga-Tilo. She was named in the Sakura XVs side for the 2024 Asia Rugby Championship. She scored a try in the final 10 minutes of the game to help her side beat Hong Kong China.