Kazakhstanis ready to push on

“Are you there? Hello? Hello?” A gaggle of Russian as the iPad gets passed around until finally Nastya Khamova enters her password and through the magic of Skype I am on the move with Kazakhstan flanker Marianna Balashova.

And not for the first time. When I was involved in rugby in Kazakhstan we’d regularly train alongside the women’s team – until they made us look bad – and Marianna was one of the few forwards who passed to the wing. Kudos!

First I think it’s the camera or the light, but then I notice Marianna has three different bruises on her face. It seems to be a good place to start.

What happened to you?

“New Zealand, USA and your beloved Ireland, that’s what!”

So, how does this World Cup compare to your others?

“It’s good. It doesn’t feel better or worse than England for example, but it has its own personality. It’s well organised. Yesterday we got to see some of Paris, which was amazing”. This leads to some French gestures in the background from Khamova that I think translate as “Oh, la, la!”.

What’s your experience of the tournament so far and the pool matches?

“We had a really good preparation with the Asian Qualification matches prior to the tournament and about 6 months under our new coach, Adam MacDonald. It’s been a bit of a transition for us with about half of the team experiencing a World Cup and this level of rugby for the first time, and the rest of the girls with 2, 3 or even more tournaments under their belts.

“We knew the games would be tough when we saw our draw, but they are no easy games at a Rugby World Cup. Facing New Zealand first was incredible. Our coach really got us in a positive frame of mind and explained that we had to perform our jobs as best we could. We took pride in scoring against them, but were disappointed. We genuinely thought we had a chance to upset the USA but they surprised us with how good they were. We matched them in certain parts of the game but ultimately we came up short. We learned a lot of tough lessons”.

“What surprised us and everyone was Ireland beating New Zealand. We knew that the Irish had improved significantly but we didn’t realise how much. Especially because of that result we were happy with how we performed against Ireland for a large part of the game. We know they changed their squad but we had our own changes and challenges, so we were proud of our efforts. In the end they exposed us when we were tired”.

Balashova was the fall-girl for the penalty try Ireland scored. Referee Inwood judging that the ball was not out of the scrum when she kicked it. Just like Richie McCaw, she’s innocent!

What happened?

“The ball was out! I am 100% sure. We even protested after the game but the damage was done. Now I am on laundry duty as punishment! I guess the pressure just became too much for the referee – we were living on the edge”.

Despite the loss, how is the mood in the camp?

“Our new coach has been excellent with us. He has kept us well motivated throughout. We did some analysis on Spain together as a group and have some areas we know we can attack”.

Tell me more.

“Well, we were split into groups and shown parts of the Spanish match against Samoa. Then we were told to list their strengths and weaknesses and together we got a good picture of how we would approach the game”

Traditionally, the coaching style has always been very prescriptive and this must be a breath of fresh air. This seems like a new approach – how are you enjoying it?

“Yes, our coach is really focusing on making sure we learn from match to match and we feel we are doing that. The core group of players with one or two notable exceptions, will be together come the next World Cup so we feel we are starting on a journey”.

What needs to happen between now and the next Rugby World Cup for Kazakhstan to evolve like other women’s teams?

“We need more games. Though Japan and Hong Kong have really improved in 15s, these are the only matches of note. European teams have regular international competitions like the 6 Nations, but also big domestic competitions”

Marianna nearly falls off her chair when I tell her about the domestic set up in Ireland. Development leagues, InterPros, cups and more.

“Exactly. Without regular fixtures it’s hard to improve. The gap will always be growing. There’s also pressure from 7s, especially for Asian Games and the Olympics. Our player pool is so small it makes it difficult to remain competitive on so many fronts”.

Are you looking forward to the match against Spain

“Yes, we are excited. We knew realistically that these are the games we would be targeting for results before the tournament. We feel like we have played well in parts of all three pool games and that if we can put that together for 80 minutes, we have a good chance”.