Kazakhstan_national_rugby_union_team
The Kazakhstan national rugby union team (Kazakh: Қазақстан ұлттық регби құрамасы, Russian: сборная Казахстана по регби), nicknamed "The Nomads", is controlled by the Kazakhstan Rugby Union. Kazakhstan have been participating in international competition since 1994 after their independence from the USSR.
In 2007, the fortunes of the team greatly improved by winning all five of their matches and rising 14 places in the IRB World Rankings to 32nd. This rise was the biggest by any international team over the year. This led to the team being entered into the top division of the new Asian Five Nations in 2008.[1]
Kazakhstan are now one of the leading rugby union nations in Asia, finishing second in the 2009 and 2010 Asian Five Nations to continent heavyweights Japan on both occasions. Their second-place finish in 2010 saw them advance to the four-team playoff for a final place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. They lost 44–7 to Uruguay in Montevideo, being eliminated but it was still their best result yet.
They have yet to qualify for a Rugby World Cup finals.
