UAE Rugby step up in West Asian Sevens tournament

UAE Rugby took a giant step to stamp their mark in the region when they outplayed Lebanon at the West Asia Sevens tournament held in Dubai during the weekend.

Iran emerged unbeaten champions in the tournament organised for the second time by the UAE Rugby Federation (UAERF) at The Sevens stadium

They overwhelmed Afghanistan 33-7 in the final match of the four-team event which is a recognised tournament of IRB (International Rugby Board) and Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).

However, hosts UAE had the satisfaction of beating the inaugural winners of the tournament, Lebanon, to win the play-off for third and fourth places.

UAE seemed to reserve their best against Lebanon who managed to pull off a 28-21 in the group match on Friday.

Iran won all three games defeating Afghanistan (17-12), Lebanon (20-0) and UAE (22-5) to finish top of the group with 12 points.

Afghanistan was placed second with 9 points with wins over UAE (33-0) and Lebanon (22-5).

The highlight of the opening day was UAE's fightback from 21-0 down to tie the scores before Lebanon snatched victory in the dying seconds of the game.

"It was a great comeback," said Saood Belshalat, Chairman National Teams Committee of UAERF, after watching the UAE fight back in the second period.

Harib Alazri scored the first before flyer Mohammed Abbas scored two superb breakaway tries. Cyrus Pourhomayoun added the extra points.

"It was a moral victory for us," said Mohammed Shaker, Manager of UAE representative teams, after seeing Lebanon secure victory with a try with just 15 seconds left.

However, UAE were completely outplayed in the second game with Afghanistan scoring five unanswered tries, against a team whom they had beaten 19-0 at the Mumbai leg of the Asian Sevens Series.

UAE bounced back again losing narrowly to Iran 12-7 scoring a late try through Mohannad Shaker.

"Iran has lots of experience. Afghanistan has more than two years. We are only six months old. I have never been shaken by the score. We are taking one step at time," said Fijian Epeli Lagilao, UAE's Performance Manager after their first day's display.

On the second day, Iran defeated UAE comfortably (22-7) while Afghanistan beat Lebanon (12-5) in the knockout semifinal phase of the competition to determine who would battle for the final placing which was played over two legs.

The hosts were without their inspirational captain Yousef Shaker and winger Abbas through injury but rose Phoenix-like to achieve their goal against Lebanon.

Trailing 7-0 early in the game, UAE drew level with a superb 60-yard dash by Hareb Alazri before 16 year-old Yousef Askhari muscled his way over the line to score his first international try under the posts. Cyrus added the extra points to give them a 12-5 lead at the break.

UAE dominated after the interval pinning Lebanon in their half with Saeed Al Mehairi opening up the defence with a burst of speed on the flank to score in the left corner.

Adel Alhindi then won a race to the touchdown after a loose ball was kicked towards the line to give UAE a deserved 22-7 victory in the first leg of the playoff.

"I know we can always play like that. Just a shame we don't start the first day like that. We have to do something to find a way for us to play like that every game and not up and down," said stand-in skipper Cyrus after their first win over Lebanon.

"I remember Lebanon beat us by some 50 points first time and specially we wanted to improve against them," said Cyrus who scored a try in the second playoff match against Lebanon which they won 19-7.

Hareb Alazri proved he is one of UAE's brightest stars scoring twice against Lebanon.

"It's a learning curve for us. We are not worried about results. It will not come overnight. But we are progressing," said Mohammed Shaker who was delighted with their triumph against Lebanon.

Iran beat Afghanistan 17-5 and 33-7 to win the two-legged final to stamp their rise in the region.

Iran Rugby Association president Dr H. Mirzaaghabaik thanked UAERF for hosting these games.

"This is a very good competition. It is very important to work together. It was a good experience for us because in this tournament any team can win," he said.

He said Iran were also keen to host such tournaments which should be held as preparation for the Asian Sevens Series.

Chairman and President of the Afghanistan Rugby Federation Mohammed Mansoor Majid also thanked UAERF for organising this tournament.

"It's a fantastic rugby tournament UAE has arranged for us. This is a good chance for our guys to get exposure on the international stage. They have played locally and other internationals, but this really helps," said Majid who was not surprised by their emergence despite not having a national coach.

"We know the talent our guys have is a lot more. In just two and half years they have developed to this stage. I see a very bright future for rugby in Afghanistan," he said.

The Afghan rugby chief said hoped their performance in tournaments such as these would help them achieve international recognition.

"We have started mini rugby in schools so they understand the game. This game is suited for Afghani people because they have tough physique," said Majid.