Kazakhstan Defeat Hong Kong China 27 – 23 in Asia Rugby Women’s Championship Opening Match

After a toughly contested battle, Kazakhstan defeated Hong Kong China 27 – 23 in the first match of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship at the Almaty Sports Training Complex in Abaya Almaty, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, 23rd May, 2023.

For Kazakhstan, winger Amina Tulegenova and prop Yelena Yurova had outstanding outings, scoring two tries each, whilst winger Veronika Stepanyuga stormed over for one. Fullback Gulim Bakytbek converted one of these tries, adding 2 points to Kazakhstan’s total.

Whereas, for Hong Kong China, centre Jiayu Qian, winger Ka Yan Chong and veteran centre Natasha Olsen-Thorne breached the Kazakhstan defences, scoring one try each.

Aileen Ryan put in a superb performance at fly half for Hong Kong China, particularly with the boot. She not only contributed 8 points to the team’s total tally by converting one try and two penalty kicks, her penalty kicking for touch gained significant yardage and often put her team in try-scoring positions.

By way of this critical victory, Kazakhstan have already qualified for the upcoming inaugural premier World Rugby WXV tournament, and will face off against Japan on Sunday 28th May to determine the 2023 Asia Rugby Women’s champion – as well as to earn a higher slot in the prestigious WR WXV.

The final of the 2023 Asia Rugby Women’s Championship will be broadcast live on Asia Rugby’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, with highlights along with behind-the-scenes footage shared on AR’s Instagram page.

Click on any of the links above to catch all the action.