Kazakhstan women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Kazakhstan national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Kazakhstan women's national rugby sevens team.

The Kazakhstan women's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Nomads, represents Kazakhstan in women's rugby union and is governed by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union. They have competed in six Rugby World Cup's, having made their first appearance in 1994 in Scotland. They compete annually in the Asia Rugby Women's Championship and have won five tournaments.

Kazakhstan

Nickname	Nomads
Union	Kazakhstan Rugby Union
Head coach	Anna Yakovleva
Captain	Karina Sazintova
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	19 (as of 15 July 2024)
Highest	6
Lowest	20 (2022)
First international
Germany 11–10 Kazakhstan  (Hanover, Germany; 31 October 1993)
Biggest win
Kazakhstan 91–7 Singapore  (Almaty, Kazakhstan; 4 September 2013)
Biggest defeat
Kazakhstan 0–118 Fiji  (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 27 October 2023)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1994)
Best result	9th place, 1998

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 rankings as of 25 August 2025^[1]

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.76
2		Canada	090.13
3		New Zealand	088.74
4		France	085.82
5		Ireland	078.82
6	2	Scotland	077.39
7	1	Australia	076.31
8	1	Italy	076.96
9	1	United States	072.05
10	1	Wales	070.13
11		Japan	068.82
12		South Africa	068.04
13		Spain	063.31
14		Fiji	059.98
15		Samoa	059.72
16		Hong Kong	057.56
17		Netherlands	057.42
18		Russia	055.10
19		Kazakhstan	053.88
20		Kenya	050.68
*Change from the previous week

History

Kazakhstan played their first test in 1993 and has competed in six Rugby World Cups — 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.^[2] They won the 2014 Asian Four Nations Championship in Hong Kong.^[3] Up to 2019, Kazakhstan had only played four international matches since the 2014 World Cup. They defeated China in the 2019 Asia Rugby Women's Championship Division 1 competition and qualified for the 2020 Asia Rugby Women's Championship.^[4]

The 2020 Asia Rugby Women's Championship was postponed twice before it was cancelled altogether.^[5][6][7] The Nomads were left to play Hong Kong who later withdrew due to challenges caused by COVID-19.^[8] They qualified for the repechage tournament and met Colombia who saw them off with a 18–10 victory in a semifinal berth.^[9]

In December 2022, Kazakhstan fell five places in rankings, from 15th to 20th, after two consecutive losses to Hong Kong.^[10][11]

Records

Overall

See also: List of Kazakhstan women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only)

Rugby: Kazakhstan internationals 1993-

Opponent	First game	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win%
Canada	1994	2	0	0	2	0.00%
China	2007	4	3	0	1	75%
Colombia	2022	1	0	0	1	0.00%
England	2000	3	0	0	3	0.00%
Fiji	2023	1	0	0	1	0.00%
France	1998	3	0	0	3	0.00%
Germany	1993	4	3	0	1	75%
Hong Kong	2009	7	4	0	3	57.14%
Ireland	1998	6	3	0	3	50%
Italy	2001	2	2	0	0	100%
Japan	2005	10	7	0	3	70%
Kenya	2023	1	1	0	0	100%
New Zealand	2014	1	0	0	1	0.00%
Netherlands	1999	2	2	0	0	100%
Russia	1994	4	1	0	3	25%
Samoa	2002	3	0	0	3	0.00%
Spain	2006	2	0	0	2	0.00%
Scotland	2006	1	0	0	1	0.00%
Singapore	2013	2	2	0	0	100%
South Africa	2006	4	1	0	3	25%
Sweden	1994	4	3	0	1	75%
Thailand	2005	1	1	0	0	100%
Uzbekistan	2008	2	2	0	0	100%
United States	2010	2	0	0	2	0.00%
Wales	1994	5	2	0	3	40%
Summary		77	37	0	40	48.05%

Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad
1991	Did not enter
1994	Plate final	9th	5	3	0	2	91	69	Squad
1998	Bowl final	9th	5	4	0	1	109	57	Squad
2002	11th place playoff	11th	4	2	0	2	72	58	Squad
2006	11th place playoff	11th	5	1	0	4	70	114	Squad
2010	11th place playoff	11th	5	1	0	4	25	203	Squad
2014	11th place playoff	12th	3	0	0	3	22	215	Squad
2017	Did not enter
2021	Did Not Qualify
2025
2029	TBD
2033
Total	6/9	9th†	27	11	0	16	389	716
Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place * Tied placing † Best placing Home venue

Results

2014 Women's Rugby World Cup

1.  Kazakhstan 5-79  New Zealand
2.  Kazakhstan 7-47  United States
3.  Kazakhstan 5-40  Ireland
4.  Kazakhstan 5-18  Spain
5.  Kazakhstan 0-31  Samoa

2021 Rugby World Cup qualifying

1.  Kazakhstan 8-13  China
2.  Kazakhstan 15-0  China
3.  Kazakhstan 10-18  Colombia

2023 WXV

1.  Kazakhstan 0-109  Ireland
2.  Kazakhstan 18-12  Kenya
3.  Kazakhstan 0-118  Fiji

Asian Championship Results

Source: ^[12][13]

#	Year	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	2006	Did Not Compete
2	2007	2	2	0	0	45	11	+34
3	2008	2	2	0	0	103	6	+97
4	2010	Did Not Compete
5	2012	2	2	0	0	68	8	+60
6	2013	2	2	0	0	116	30	+86
7	2014	3	3	0	0	130	27	+103
8	2015	2	1	0	1	52	27	+25
9	2016	Did Not Compete
10	2017
11	2022	2	0	0	2	29	45	-16
12	2023	2	1	0	1	27	95	-68
13	2024	2	0	0	2	0	86	-86
14	2025	2	0	0	2	12	119	-107
Total	10/14	21	13	0	8	582	454	+128

Players

Recent Squad

Kazakhstan named a 26-player squad for the 2025 Asia Rugby Women's Championship in Fukuoka, Japan.^[14]

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Club
Irina Balabina	Forward	(2005-07-03)3 July 2005 (aged 19)	Almaty
Anna Chebotar	Forward	(1989-07-03)3 July 1989 (aged 35)	Almaty
Maria Grishina	Forward	(1998-12-26)26 December 1998 (aged 26)	Asiasport
Natalya Kamendrovskaya (c)	Forward	(1990-04-17)17 April 1990 (aged 35)	Almaty
Xeniya Kim	Forward	(2000-06-21)21 June 2000 (aged 24)	Asiasport
Viktoriya Kuznetsova	Forward	(2006-05-10)10 May 2006 (aged 19)	Kostanay
Svetlana Malezhina	Forward	(2000-06-21)21 June 2000 (aged 24)	Asiasport
Yuliya Oleinikova	Forward	(2003-06-23)23 June 2003 (aged 21)	PRK Olympics
Anzhelika Pichugina	Forward	(2003-01-27)27 January 2003 (aged 22)	Asiasport
Karina Sazontova	Forward	(2001-07-12)12 July 2001 (aged 23)	Asiasport
Darya Simakova	Forward	(2001-11-22)22 November 2001 (aged 23)	Asiasport
Darya Tkachyova	Forward	(1993-09-08)8 September 1993 (aged 31)	Asiasport
Yelena Yurova	Forward	(1989-11-18)18 November 1989 (aged 35)	Asiasport
Symbat Zhamankulova	Forward	(1991-06-16)16 June 1991 (aged 33)	Almaty
Ayaulym Bakytpek	Back	(2007-06-18)18 June 2007 (aged 17)	PRK Olympics
Alyona Drobovskaya	Back	(2003-02-06)6 February 2003 (aged 22)	Asiasport
Liliya Kibisheva	Back	(1988-01-30)30 January 1988 (aged 37)	PRK Olympics
Tatyana Kruchinkina	Back	(2000-09-22)22 September 2000 (aged 24)	Asiasport
Angelina Kuznetsova	Back	(2005-06-15)15 June 2005 (aged 19)	SDUSHOR
Anna Melnikova	Back	(2004-10-08)8 October 2004 (aged 20)	Asiasport
Yekaterina Savina	Back	(2000-11-26)26 November 2000 (aged 24)	PRK Olympics
Oxana Shadrina	Back	(1991-03-23)23 March 1991 (aged 34)	Asiasport
Amina Sharip	Back	(2006-11-13)13 November 2006 (aged 18)	PRK Olympics
Veronika Stepanyuga	Back	(1994-11-12)12 November 1994 (aged 30)	Asiasport
Amina Tulegenova	Back	(2004-08-06)6 August 2004 (aged 20)	PRK Olympics
Natalya Vlassova	Back	(1996-01-01)1 January 1996 (aged 29)	Asiasport

World Cup Squads

See also

• Rugby union in Kazakhstan