ARWC 2023 Final Preview: Japan vs Kazakhstan

Japan plays Kazakhstan in the final of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2023 on Sunday 28th May at Almaty Sports Training Complex, Abaya.

Kazakhstan edged out Hong Kong China 27-23 earlier in the week and were pushed all the way, while Japan (like the Kazakhstan Nomads until their opening match) have yet to play a test match in 2023, and not since the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Japan will still be favourites, but over the course of the ARWC history, Kazakhstan has won five times and Japan four times so a win for the Sakura XVs would see them go level with the hosts in the number of championships.

Maybe more importantly this year is the WXV and the results of the ARWC final will determine where the two Asian nations end up – but both are guaranteed a place in the new women’s rugby competition.

The final match of ARWC 2023 sees Christabelle Lim (SRU) as the referee, assisted by Leow Wei Liang (SRU) and Yuliya Ignatenko (Uzbekistan Rugby Federation). This will be Christabelle’s first match in the top tier of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship.

(24 hours away from KO and neither team had  announced their matchday squad  – JRFU hadn’t even acknowledged the Sakura re-playing on their main FB account – we have updated details as they are released.)

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby – Kazakhstan beat Hong Kong China in the opening match of ARWC 2023

Match Permutations – Japan vs Kazakhstan ARWC 2023 Final

• The winner of ARWC heads to WXV 2 and the runner-up heads to WXV3 – the winner would also be the Asia Rugby Women’s Champions.
• Japan cannot improve on 11th place if they win the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2023 title by beating Kazakhstan – they would still trail Ireland in rating points.
• A loss for Japan will see them fall one place below Spain.
• Kazakhstan could jump as high as 15th (one position off their highest-ever ranking) if they beat Japan by more than 15 points in the AWRC 2023 final.

Sakura XV Matchday Squad – ARWC 2023 Final

You can see more details on the Japan XV matchday squad here.

1-Hinata Komaki (6 caps) 2-Kotomi Taniguchi (6 caps) 3-Wato Kitano (7 caps) 4-Ayano Sakurai (17 caps) 5-Otoka Yoshimura (8 caps) 6-Masami Kawamura (4 caps) 7-(c) Iroha Nagata (19 caps) 8-Ayano Nagai (13 caps), 9-Moe Tsukui (22 caps) 10-Ayasa Otsuka (13 caps) 11-Komachi Imakugi (13 caps) 12-Yuki Paraki (debut) 13-Mana Furuta (18 caps) 14-Kotono Yasuo (2 caps) 15-Sora Nishimura (debut)

Remplaçants: 16-Ayumu Kokaji (6 caps) 17-Makoto Lavemai (20 caps) 18-Sachiko Kato (14 caps) 19-Asuka Kuge (1 cap) 20-Manami Mine (debut) 21-Megumi Abe (14 caps) 22-Nao Ando (debut) 23-Saya Nakamura (debut)

Image Credit: JRFU

Kazakhstan Matchday Squad – ARWC 2023 Final

No details were announced at the time of publishing.

Asian WXV Qualification 2023

The champions of the ARWC 2023 will head to Division 2 of the WXV and the runners-up heading to Division 3.

• WXV Division 2 – Takes place in South Africa from October 14-28 2023. Teams: Scotland, Italy or Spain, One of (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA), Winners of Asia (Japan, Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan), Oceania Winners (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga) and Africa Winners (Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar and South Africa).
• WXV Division 3 – Venue TBC and due to take place from October 14-28 2023. Teams: Ireland, Italy or Spain, Brazil or Colombia, Second place from Asia (Japan, Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan), Oceania 2nd place (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga) and Africa 2nd place (Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar and South Africa).

Photo Credit: JRFU – Sakura at RWC 2021 – which was their last XVs test match.

How To Watch ARWC 2023

The match will be streamed on Asia Rugby’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

• 28 May 2023 – ARCW Final – Japan vs Kazakhstan 15:00 (+6 GMT) (Video Stream)

World Rugby Rankings

Correct at the time of publishing based on World Rugby.

• Japan – #11
• Kazakhstan – #19

Asian Rugby News

• Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2023 – Tournament Preview.
• ARWC 2023 Match 1 Preview: Hong Kong China vs Kazakhstan
• Everything You Need To Know About WXV.
• Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Programme 2023.