In this episode of Voices, Afghan rugby players Bilal Slaimankhel and Mohammed Safi speak to Kadambari Raghukumar on what the game has come to mean to them in recent years.

What's it like representing Afghanistan in rugby, from here in New Zealand?

This week on Voices Kadambari Raghukumar talks to two players from the Afghan rugby team who returned home with a silver at the Asian Rugby Sevens championship in Indonesia - and to a massive welcome at Auckland airport in August.

For Bilal Slaimankhel, Mohammed Safi and their families, the medal is a welcome win after huge personal losses in the past few years.

Mohammed's father died in the Christchurch mosque shooting in 2019.

"When I lost my dad, you know, I had no way of dealing with it. The opportunity to play for Afghanistan, it helped me so much. He would have truly been so proud - he loved Afghanistan so much."

For both their families, rugby has been instrumental in helping tackle some of their hardest moments.

Listen to their full interview on Voices

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Bilal Slamankhel and his brothers got right into the sport in Auckland pretty soon after they arrived in New Zealand as refugees in 1994. It was their uncle who helped bring the family here - Dr Hashem, the founder of the Afghan Association and a well-loved community figure in Auckland. He also played a big part in nurturing the Slaimankhel brothers' love for rugby.

Dr Hashem died in a suicide bomb explosion in Kabul in 2018 while on holiday visiting family.

"If he saw us playing rugby now, I reckon he would have come with us, he would have been the on the sideline watching.

"Sport can really bring a lot of happiness to people that are going through difficult times. The sport has always been there for us."'

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details