Kazakhstan vs Ireland – WXV 3 2023 Match Preview

Kazakhstan get their WXV 3 2023 underway on Friday 13th October by playing Ireland at The Emirates Stadium in Dubai.

A win for the Kazakhstan Nomads would be huge, as they have had so few opportunities to play over recent years, despite their status as a Rugby World Cup regular over history. In fact, they didn’t play international tests from 2019 to early 2022 and then failed to make RWC 2021 and this will be their 10th test since the end of Rugby World Cup 2014.

Karina Sazontova, the Kazakhstan captain, has said that WXV is a “big step” in their path to bring Kazakhstan women’s rugby back to the world rugby scene. “We’ve been away from international rugby for a while and we’re now back with a new team, new girls and a giant fire in our eyes to play and bring our rugby back to the highest level. This is a really big moment for us and we want to make the game as successful in our country as it was for our ancestors, for my first coach and everyone else involved with Kazakhstan Rugby.”

Makhabbat Tugambekova took over as Head Coach in June 2023 and is a previous test player who has been to four Rugby World Cups for Kazakhstan. She will be without some players who are not available as the Kazakh 7s team is also in action in Thailand this weekend, hence there are three debutants in the Kazakhstan’s side on Friday.

The Kazakhs were victorious over Hong Kong China in the ARC 2023 at home before falling heavily to Japan in the final but had done enough to qualify for WXV 2 2023.

Ireland has actually played Kazakhstan 5 times previously, but the last time was in 2014. Former Red Roses coach and current Irish Coach Scott Bemand said of Kazakhstan, “There will be an enormous amount we don’t know (about Kazakhstan) and will have to discover in-game. We have some (footage of games) we can rely on, but this first game in a new competition with a new coaching group, with a newish team, I think most of the focus is going to be on ourselves, to be honest.”

Bemand has selected co-captains Sam Monaghan and Edel McMahon starting in the second row and back row respectively as they try and break a six-game losing streak in tests.

Irish squad captain Aoife Doyle said pre-game, “The team are feeling really confident, [the new coaching team] is so fresh and so new, but it’s also really positive and there’s a really good vibe and feeling about the squad and we’re all just feeling energised and ready to go now.”

Sarah Delaney, Meg Collis and Eimear Corri could make their Ireland debuts in the opener as all three were named as replacements for the WXV 3 match.

Ireland (left) and Kazakhstan (right) captains at WXV 3 2023 in Dubai

Match Permutations – Kazakhstan vs Ireland – WXV 3 2023

• Ireland cannot improve their rating by beating Kazakhstan due to the points difference between the teams.
• However, if Japan loses in WXV 2, the Irish could move up and swap places with the Japanese and occupy 10th.
• A draw would see Kazakhstan climb one place, and overtake Hong Kong China to become the second-highest-ranked team in Asia behind Japan.
• Kazakhstan could climb as high as 15th if they win by  15 points, but they would also need the USA to beat Samoa in WXV 2.

Kazakhstan Squad – vs Ireland WXV 3 2023 – Friday 13th October 2023

1. Natalya Kamendrovskaya
2. Moldir Askhat
3. Tatyana Dadajanova
4. Ann Chebotar
5. Darya Simakova
6. Tatyana Kruchinkina
7. Karina Sazontova (captain)
8. Symbat Zhamankulova
9. Daiana Kazibekova
10. Kundyzay Baktybayeva
11. Yeva Bekker
12. Darya Tkachyova
13. Lyudmila Ivanova
14. Liliya Kibisheva
15. Gulim Bakytbek

Reserves: 16. Yelena Yurova, 17. Balzhan Akhbayeva, 18. Karina Tankisheva, 19. Yuliya Oleinikova, 20. Daria Kuznetsova, 21. Svetlana Malezhina, 22. Alyona Melnikova, 23. Kuralay Turalykova

Ireland Squad – vs Kazakhstan WXV 3 2023 – Friday 13th October 2023

1. Linda Djougang
2. Neve Jones
3. Christy Haney
4. Dorothy Wall
5. Sam Monaghan (co-captain)
6. Grace Moore
7. Edel McMahon (co-captain)
8. Brittany Hogan
9. Molly Scuffil-McCabe
10. Dannah O’Brien
11. Beibhinn Parsons
12. Aoife Dalton
13. Eve Higgins
14. Natasja Behan
15. Meabh Deely

Reserves: 16. Sarah Delaney, 17. Sadhbh McGrath, 18. Meg Collis, 19. Eimear Corri, 20. Maeve Og O’Leary, 21. Aoibheann Reilly, 22. Nicole Fowley, 23. Leah Tarpey

WXV 2023 News

• WXV 2 2023 Team Guide – Can Japan Win in South Africa?
• WXV 2023 Complete Guide.
• Japan vs Italy – WXV 2 2023 Match Preview
• WXV 3 Team Guide – Kazakhstan Nomads Challenging For The Title In Dubai?