Rugby’s popularity in the country has grown dramatically, starting with the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Behind the frenzy of the World Cup currently being held in France, there is a team in Africa that is sweating and striving every day to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. That team is the Madagascar 7-a-side women’s national rugby team, known as the Maki Ladies (maki is the Malagasy word for ring-tailed lemur).
National team without a single “professional” player
Madagascar is well known in Japan for its natural beauty and ecological diversity, but surprisingly few people are aware of one aspect of its economy: it is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 79% of the population lives on less than $1.9 per day (World Bank, 2021), and only a handful of people are able to live without economic hardship. Then again, the country’s leading maki ladies athletes are no exception.
In Madagascar, where there are no professional rugby teams for either men or women in the country, players work in their hometowns when there are no national team games or training camps. Many of the Maki Ladies are single mothers who support their families by selling goods on the streets.
JICA supports the national team in Madagascar, where there are no “professional players” who make a living from rugby, through the dispatch of overseas cooperation corps coaches.
Imai giving tactical guidance
Involvement of JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, and the results that emerged
JICA began its involvement with the Maki Ladies six years ago, when it dispatched its first Rugby Overseas Cooperation Volunteer, Yuki Nakano, in 2017. In 2019, Gujo City in Gifu Prefecture accepted Madagascar under the Tokyo2020 host town program, and a tour to Japan was made possible through Mr. Nakano’s friendship. The team’s expedition to Japan was realized. After learning team discipline in Japan, the Maki Ladies placed third in the 2019 Tokyo2020 qualifying Africa tournament, and then placed second in the World Cup qualifying Africa tournament in April 2022, their best ever finish, and qualified for the Women’s 7-a-side Rugby World Cup held in South Africa in September of the same year. The team also qualified for the Women’s 7-a-side Rugby World Cup in South Africa in September of the same year. When the team participated in the World Cup, Akio Imai, a second generation rugby team member, was dispatched to accompany the Maki Ladies and contributed to the team’s victory in the final match. The first victory in their first appearance at the World Cup was introduced as one of the highlights of the World Cup and was widely reported in Madagascar as a historic victory.
Four members of the squad, their coaches and maki ladies before the Indian Ocean Island Nations Sports Festival
A complete victory in an international competition, the challenge of the Paris Olympics, and the next goal.
In September this year, one year after the historic win in South Africa, the 11th Indian Ocean Island Nations Sports Festival (a sports tournament involving seven countries and territories in the Indian Ocean), one of the international competitions, was held in Madagascar. The competition was held on a very tight schedule, with a total of five matches from the preliminary rounds to the finals played in two days. In addition to the passing and kicking play that Imai has been strengthening since last year, three short-term team members sent for this tournament, Yasuhiko Terunuma (Yomiuri Advertising Inc.: former coach of Waseda University, current coach of Tokyo Institute of Technology rugby team), Tatsuya Isoya (Shimane Iwami Chisuikan High School girls rugby team coach) and Kazuto Sato (Toyota Motor Corp.: former Toyota Motor VERBLITZ prop)), Madagascar won their matches steadily from the qualifiers, winning the semifinals with a convincing 56-0 victory over Mauritius and then defeating French Reunion 26-0 in the final to win the championship.
Above all, the girls scored zero points against the opposing team throughout the tournament, an unprecedented achievement in 7-a-side rugby, where points are easier to score than in 15-a-side rugby, and achieved a “complete victory” with no goals scored. This remarkable accomplishment testifies to the girls’ unity, high technical skills, and above all, their unwavering fighting spirit as they continue to work toward their ultimate goal of competing in the Paris Olympics. Claudia, the captain of the team, said, “I am grateful for the guidance of Mr. Imai and the other JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. I pledge to never give up until the final whistle (no side) blows”.
The Maki Ladies, who had immediately changed their mindset from the joy of their complete victory and had been practicing hard to achieve their next goal, took on the challenge of qualifying for the Africa Qualifier on October 14 and 15, with a bet on their participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics. If they were selected, they would become the first Malagasy team to compete in the Olympics in a team event, and with high hopes and dreams on their shoulders, they fought with all their might. Unfortunately, the team lost by just one step and their path to the Paris Olympics was cut short in the qualifying round.
However, “I was able to see foreign landscapes through rugby. I learned from the JOC how to think about playing and how to have a mentality, which I couldn’t learn in Madagascar.” As Claudia said after the game, the message that the JOCV gave to the girls and the efforts of the players so far will certainly remain in the world of rugby in Madagascar, and will be utilized in new challenges in the future.
Our next target is the Women’s 7-a-side Rugby World Cup to be held in 2026. We have high expectations for the future of the Madagascar women’s rugby team. We will continue to watch their successes and challenges.
© Source JICA
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