UAE Rugby aiming for glory in West Asian Sevens

UAE are determined to go for glory in the second edition of the West Asian Sevens Rugby Tournament which will be held this weekend at The Sevens Stadium on November 1 and 2.

Hosts UAE, last year's winner's Lebanon, Iran and newcomers Afghanistan will make up the four-team competition which is aimed at providing a level playing field for regional teams.

"We are trying to encourage neighboring countries to come and play in a competitive level. Teams are tired of playing against Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Sometimes you need to slow down and play competitive rugby with the same level. This was the main driver behind initiating this tournament last year," said Qais Abdulla Al Dhalai, Secretary General of the UAE Rugby Federation (UAERF).

"It is a friendly tournament but recognized by IRB (International Rugby Board) and ARFU (Asian Rugby Football Union)," he said adding that Saudi Arabia who took part in the inaugural tournament withdrew at the eleventh hour.

UAE Rugby are bubbling with confidence having made considerable strides despite fielding all Emiratis in the Asian Sevens Series.

"Last year Shaheen took part. This year the UAE national sevens team which is currently playing at the Asian Sevens Series will be playing in the West Asian Sevens tournament," said the UAERF spokesman Al Dhalai.

"If you compare our results against Lebanon, we lost 31-7 in the West Asia tournament last year and 21-14 in another international tournament in March. The gap is closing. After the facelift, development and investments in youth and with their experience of playing at the top level in Asia, I would expect them to achieve a positive result against the defending champions  although they were tough opponents last year," he predicted confidently.

The reason is because UAE's Emirati rugby players have overcome the initial shock of playing international rugby to turn the corner by winning games.

"Even if you compare past performances, it has steadily improved from Malaysia, Bangkok to Mumbai," he said referring to the three legs of the Asian Sevens Series, having entered the Shield finals of the last two events losing to India on both occasions.

They also take inspiration from their performance against a leading Asian side such as Thailand.

"In Mumbai against Thailand in the second half, it was 14-all and then they scored two tries to win 24-14. We beat Afghanistan 19-0 but could have won by bigger margin. We failed to score at least two more tries due to the inexperience of 16 year-old Yousef Ashkari who failed to touch down after crossing the line," he said.

They also lost 22-5 to Iran playing one of their worst games in Mumbai, according Al Dhalai.

UAE players appeared to be overawed by the physicality of the Iranian players featuring in the first game of day two.

"They have a chance in West Asia Sevens to beat Lebanon, to keep beating Afghanistan and also beat Iran. We have the capability to win the tournament, so let’s wait and enjoy the weekend" said Al Dhalai.

Following is the playing schedule for the tournament:

Pitch 5

Friday November 2

4pm Iran (CR 11) vs Afghanistan (CR 10)

4.20pm UAE (CR 14) vs Lebanon (CR 13)

5.00pm AFG vs UAE

5.20pm LEB vs Iran

6pm Iran vs UAE

6.20pm AFG vs LB

Saturday November 2

10am 1 vs 4

10.20am 2 vs 3

10.40am Community Games

11am Loser vs Loser- Game 1

11.20am Winner vs Winner- Game 1

11.40am Community Games

12noon Loser vs Loser- Game 2

12.20pm Community Games

12.40pm Winner vs Winner- Game 2