Noriko Taniguchi has added the Gallagher High Performance Academy (GHPA) RWC 2025 to an impressive rugby CV, which includes an Asian Games silver medal and competing in the Olympic Games.
Noriko won her Asian Games silver in South Korea in 2014, where Japan went down 14-12 to China in the Final. Two years later she became an Olympian, when she was a member of Japan’s Women’s Sevens squad at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Having represented her country at 15-a-side and Sevens, Noriko has now transitioned into coaching, and is currently strength and conditioning coach for Japan’s national team, specialising in the return-to-contact area.
Noriko admits that she is still feeling her way as a coach, but having recently retired from playing allows her to have an empathetic approach to the players she coaches.
“I am perhaps closest to the players compared to other coaches, which allows me to support them mentally, and also have a better understanding of their feelings in multiple ways,” Noriko told World Rugby.
“Having experienced many injuries during my playing career, I believe I can have a significant impact on the return-to-rugby process.
“I have a good understanding of rugby, especially contact knowledge.
“I’m still unsure if I’m a good fit as a coach, but I find it rewarding when I see small growth from players while coaching them.”
As a member of the GHPA RWC 2025 cohort, Noriko will have the opportunity to share her own rugby experiences, and learn from other talented coaches from across the rugby-playing world.
“I would like to actively communicate with the coaches who participate in the training sessions and broaden my ideas through exchanging opinions, so that I can grow as a coach,” she said.
“I think the success of female coaches at RWC 2025 will be an inspiration for all women.
“In rugby, there are still areas where I feel men have stronger positions in the dynamics than women.
“I believe having more female coaches at a high performance level will be a source of further development for the sport.
“I also believe that participation in these programmes will have a significant positive impact on the women around them.”
Noriko’s rugby journey began as a nine year-old, when she was encouraged to take up the sport by her brother.
Competing at the Olympics and beating China for the first time rank as the highlights of her playing career, but there are more broader experiences and learnings that will shape her as a coach.
“Having been involved in actual tournaments, I understand how a team functions and how to build relationships with the players,” she said.
“It’s important to have a mutual trusting relationship with each other, and ensure that the team has a clear goal and is on the same page.
“I don’t have a particular role model. I haven’t had a lot of experience as a coach, and I think that is why I haven’t found a specific role model yet.
“However, I do have an image of a coach that I would like to be: first is being honest and sincere with the players, building a strong relationship of trust with each of them.
“In the coaching part, rather than giving players the solutions, I want to be a coach that can guide them to find the answers themselves, with new findings and awareness along the way. Then plan what can be done next, based on, and putting importance on, their new findings.”
