Kazakhstan beats Qatar in 33/31 thriller

Qatar vs Kazakhstan matrch  Pic by Kushan Pathiraja 

Asia Rugby Championship Division 1

Kazakhstan drew first blood at the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 opener when they edged out Qatari outfit by 33 points (5 tries, 4 conversions) to 31 points (1 penalty try, 3 tries, 3 conversions, 1 penalty) at the Racecourse ground yesterday.

At the short breather it was Qatar who led 21/14.

Lightning and thunder around the ground made kick off able only at 5 p.m. with one hour from scheduled start.

Qatar lost out this game mainly due to their poor line out play. They lost 2 try scoring opportunities. Kazakhstan too had number of errors, but they never gave up fought till the end. Physically, they played a better game, being yards faster at breakdowns.

Qatar opened their scoring through a penalty try in the 2nd minute of the game, but Kazakhstan hit back through their first try through Georgly Litvinov and converted by Abdrakhman Nazhbayev.

After some even exchange Kazakhstan scored their second try through Alexey Lukmanov with Nazhbayev adding the extra 2 points to take 14/7 lead. Qatar equalised through Wade Lotter try and Brook Tremayne conversion. Qatar was with momentum, took the lead through Lliesa Rakabu try and Tremayne conversion. 

Soon after the turnaround, Kazakhstan scored through Abdrakhman Nazhibayev to cut the deficit by 2 points. But Qatar went further ahead through Johann Henry Bezuidenhout try with Brook Tremayne conversion. Kazakhstan came back strongly, scoring through Roman Chsherbakov try. Though it was Qatar leading 28/26 the Russian team never gave up.

Qatar took further lead with Brook Tremayne penalty. Kazakhstan equalised through Alexander Lymar try. It was Nazhbayev conversion took them to a 33/31 win and move towards the final.

Though Kazakhstan came several times close to Qatar try line they failed to find the white wash but it was enough for them to book their final berth on May 4 and keep their hopes alive for the Asia Rugby Top 4 promotion in 2025.

Referee was Ishanka Abeykoon. Match Commissioner was Kavinda Jayasena and CMO was David Harper (UAE).