Kazakhstan hope their return is for good

For a country with such a proud history of fifteens rugby, attending every World Cup from 1994 to 2014, it is a surprise to consider how little rugby Kazakhstan has played recently.

After missing the 2017 World Cup, the national team was absent from the international stage from 2019 to 2022, concentrating on sevens and having to effectively restart their entire programme when the chance to compete again via WXV came about.They remerged, fresh with vital government investment enabling a core group to train fulltime together in Almaty in recent months.

The investment brought some immediate success with a win against Hong Kong in the Asian Championship - a big step forward in the regaining their previous position in Asian and world rugby, and WXV3 will be crucial in their attempts to rise further.

Karina Sazontova was made captain as the team remerged onto the test arena, and she says that Kazakstan faces an ongoing battle to ensure they can compete at this level.

“Obviously we haven’t competed for a few years at this level and so it has been hard to find players that can play at a high level and in 15s as we have been focusing for a while on sevens.

“We’re trying to attract more young girls to get into the game and step by step from the Asian Championships and on, we’ve been working to get back into that higher level of rugby so those girls have something to look up to.”

Sazontova took up the game when she was 14, when her saw her aunt make it at a high level.

“For me it started out as a hobby, and I got onto the sevens side but then we got more serious and ot became a bigger and bigger part of my life and right now it is my job.”

Rugby is still a peripheral sport in Kazakhstan, particularly for girls, for whom gymnastics remains the primary activity. The majority of rugby players are based in and around Almaty and Sazontova says the sport still faces some opposition as a game for women.

“Kazakhstan is a central Asian country, and we have a lot of patriarchy here still. A lot of people think sport generally isn’t for women, but we are crushing these stereotypes by doing well and showing girls they can do anything. That is a huge motivation for me and for many others playing.”

“Being back at this level is huge for us. For a while the direction from the union was to be focused on sevens and our 15s team disappeared for a while. Honestly, I didn’t imagine we would qualify for the WXV so quickly. We brought a team together, some of the players were from sevens and it worked!

“It’s a huge opportunity for us to get back into world rugby playing with such great teams and maybe if we play more we can get back into the World Cup.”

It is clear that she is hugely proud to play for her country.

“I love my country. I travel a lot and yet I still think Kazakhstan is the best! Growing up here has a lot of great memories. I grew up spending time with my family in the mountains and being happy and being able to play sport. I feel very lucky.”

She feels lucky too to have the experience as captain of several vastly experienced players, including Natalya Kamendrovskaya and Kundyzay Baktybayeva who have both played at World Cups

“For me Natasha has been brilliant. I started at second row and she give me all the information and help I needed to understand the position and get better.

“Becoming captain is amazing but at the same time I felt it was a huge pressure and responsibility because we have lots of players with experience, but this is a good thing and it’s helping me to grow as a person and a player.”

Along with her teammates, who speak Russian when they are together, Sazontova is training six days a week in preparation for the WXV

“Many of us are still studying but most of us are now being paid to be here to train right now thanks to that government investment. It is making a huge difference to how we prepare.”

The team is also under new management with Makhabbat Tugambekova having taken over as head coach in June, having been a previous test player.

Sazontova is excited about the prospect of mingling with other teams in the weeks ahead.

“When we went to Dubai last time to play, it was during that period where you had to quarantine and we couldn’t see very much. The training was curtailed, and we couldn’t talk to other teams. That was disappointing because that is such a great part of the game.

“I love women’s rugby and I watch it more than men’s. As a team we watched the World Cup in New Zealand and we loved that experience.”

She has no hesitation in naming her favourite player.

“Portia Woodman -  100%. She is a role model for a lot of young girls and players like me! Every woman that plays at that level is an amazing woman and is inspiring to me but she is just incredible.”

Kazakhstan will take on Ireland – a side they used to once beat regularly – Fiji and Kenya in Dubai, which their captain says all present different and unique challenges.

“Really this is all new for us, Ireland, Fiji and Kenya will be very tough teams. But my team is young, with sparkle in their eyes, and we can’t wait to get started.”