Rugby union in Kazakhstan

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Rugby union in Kazakhstan
CountryKazakhstan
Governing bodyKazakhstan Rugby Union
National team(s)Kazakhstan
Registered players2,465 [1]
Clubs21
National competitions
IRB Sevens World Series

Rugby union in Kazakhstan is a fairly popular sport. As of May 2018, they are ranked 61st by World Rugby, and as of June 2009, they had 2335 registered players and twenty clubs.[2]

Governing body

The national body is the Kazakhstan Rugby Union.

History

See also: Rugby union in the Soviet Union

Soviet Period

Rugby union was played in

the Russian Empire as early as in 1908. In 1934 the Moscow Championship was started, and in 1936 the first Soviet Championship
took place.

In 1949, rugby union was forbidden in the USSR during the "fight against the cosmopolitanism". The competitions were resumed in 1957, and the Soviet Championship in 1966. In 1975 the Soviet national team played their first match.[2]

Kazakhstan had its own rugby team in the USSR, but it was not treated as a proper national side.

The

Alma-Ata was a quite successful club in the Soviet era, finishing 3rd et 2nd respectively of the 1988 and 1991 championships, and also winning the Soviet Cup
in 1988.

Post-independence

Kazakhstan is arguably the most successful ex-Soviet rugby nation aside from Georgia and Russia (who have both qualified for the Rugby World Cup).

The

ARFU Women's Rugby Championship
.

Rugby continues to be moderately popular. The Japan-Kazakhstan

Asian Five Nations game in Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty
was attended by 6,000 people. [3] This was unfortunately also their worst loss, 82-6.

See also

References

  • Richards, Huw (2007). A game for hooligans : the history of Rugby Union. Edinburgh: Mainstream Pub.
    OCLC 165411135
    .
  1. ^ "International Rugby Board - KAZAKHSTAN". Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  2. ^ a b Rugby union in Russia and USSR Archived 11 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  3. ^ "JAPAN 82 V KAZAKHSTAN 6". Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2009.

External links

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