Qatar Rugby is ready to host their very first Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy (ARST), an 11-nation continental championship, that will be played in Doha over the weekend.
Qatar will for the first time host the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy. The tenth edition of the tournament will take place on March 3 and 4 at the Aspire Warm Up and Rugby Stadium in Doha.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby, where teams of seven players face-off over seven-minute halves, instead of the regular 15-player 40-minute halves games. The sports has gained huge success over the last decade, and made its debut as an Olympic sport at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The eleven teams include Pakistan, Jordan, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, Iran, Bangladesh, Philippines, Nepal and of course, the hosts Qatar. Lebanon pulled out of the tournament earlier on.
Qatar will be playing in the same pool as Philippines and Nepal, where the former being the tougher team to beat. The Philippines is expected to triumph, but the Qatari team will not be giving up easy on their own turf, so there will be a lot of effort from both sides.
The Qatari Rugby Sevens team is coached by the Fijian Usaia Biumaiwai, who had told Gulf Times that “the Philippines are a good team and I have told the boys that we should not be underestimating any of the teams in the tournament. All the teams are prepared well and we should treat each game as a final”.
He added that the Qataris have an advantage with their “big forwards”.
Their forward line is lead by captain Mubarak al-Malik, who has an impressive lineup of local and international talents beside him.
The team already defeated Nepal 55 – 0 at today’s opening match for the Qatari side.
Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy #ARST #Doha7s
Live Updates From Day 1 Pool Matches
#WorldRugby #AsiaRugby #Rugby pic.twitter.com/L770nUmYhL— Asia Rugby (@asiarugby) March 3, 2017
Other winners of day one was Pakistan who beat Jordan 22-14, and Iran who beat Bangladesh 33-5.
