It’s been a while since some meaningful competitive rugby has been played, Covid-19 put the block on any form of International competition in the region until this weekend’s Asia Rugby Under 18 Girls Sevens Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The United Arab Emirates Under 18 Girls Team will have travelled to Tashkent with a reasonable degree of quiet confidence. Well drilled, excellent skill sets, and a prolonged preparation camp under the direction if UAE National Coach Apollo Perelini would have installed belief and the tough mental attitude needed for tournament rugby.
The Championship consisted of 5 teams from the region, United Arab Emirates, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan all coming together for a series of pool matches followed by a 3rd and 4th play-off and a Cup Final.
The UAE‘s 12 girl tournament squad featured 7 girls from Dubai Exiles RFC all of whom applied themselves superbly over the two days. Jodie Qursha, Femke Soens, Lara Botha, Megan Theocharis, Annabelle Garner, Nicole Brits, and Tara Aksoy all got to ‘do their stuff’ for the UAE on the international stage.
First up for the UAE was Kyrgyzstan Under 18 girls who were duly dispatched by 55 points without reply. The next match, Uzbekistan, was a far tougher affair. Uzbekistan proving to be a solid and direct running outfit who scraped past the UAE by 7 points to 5.
The third pool match was another tight affair, Kazakhstan heart breakingly close to getting the ‘W’. With the final whistle fast approaching, Dubai Exiles RFC‘s Annabelle Garner broke from the half-way with the very last play to level the score at 10 – 10. It was left for another Dubai Exile, Femke Soens, to step up and bring home the extra two points and the win. The kick was duly delivered and the UAE RUGBY Under 18 Girls finished the day sitting in second place behind India on points difference.
Day 2 was what the French may refer to as ‘Le Crunch’. The two top performing teams, India and the UAE, going head to head to establish seedings for the knock-out stage of the tournament. In what was a precursor to the final, the UAE Under 18 Girls took care of the young ladies from India by 29 points to 12.
Promoted to Number 1 in the seedings, the UAE was guaranteed to play the team ranked number 4, as fate would have it, it was Uzbekistan, the team that had defeated them on Day 1. It was an incredibly nervous affair, both sides answering each others scores, but when the final whistle blew, the UAE had 19 points on the board to Uzbekistan‘s 10 and were through the the final of the first meaningful rugby tournament in almost 2 years.
The Final was another nail-biter as UAE RUGBY Under 18 Girls looked to take the spoils against Rugby India in the Asia Rugby Under 18 Girls Sevens Championship Final.
It initially looked like it might be a long afternoon for the young ladies of Rugby India, the UAE Under 18 Girls racing into a 14 point lead in the opening few minutes. However, India pinned the UAE back with a couple of break-away tries. The Indian side was packing some serious gas out on their wing and made the absolute most of it! When the two teams reached the break the UAE were nursing a slim 4 point lead, 14 – 10.
When, in the second half, the girls of UAE rugby crossed the Rugby India try line for the third time, a superb conversion from right of the posts pushed the lead out to 21 – 10. The clock was ticking along and the the game looked for all intents and purposes out of reach for India.
Fittingly, Rugby India did have the last word. A line break and a score under the posts looked set to make it a very nervy finish, but the referee blew the final whistle and the UAE headed home with the Championship title.
Well done to the Uzbekistan Rugby Federation for putting on a great tournament for these young ladies over the two days.
