Rugby Sevens: Qatar confident of a good show at home event

Hosts Qatar are confident of a good show at the two-day Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy 2017 (ARST) which kicks off tomorrow at the Aspire Dome.

Eleven teams, including top seeds Singapore are vying for a top spot in the Doha tournament, which will make them eligible for a place in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series.

Qatar Rugby Federation President Yousef Al Kuwari said he has full faith that his players will do well in familiar home conditions.

“The teams taking part in the tournaments come from three tiers, we have the top teams like Singapore, Thailand and Philippines and then we have the second tier teams like us."

“We hope to make a positive impact in the tournament. The competition will be tough. But, after winning the Dubai 7s in December last year the morale of the team is very high.  We will put up a good show and hopefully win the tournament,” said Al Kuwari.

Qatar are clubbed along with Philippines and Nepal in Pool B and play their first match against the team from the Himalayas tomorrow.

Kuwari congratulated all the players on their achievement and the hard work they had put in during the last 12 months.

“We have a great team of dedicated men who sacrificed so much to get this far. We are a strong outfit with big powerful forwards and equally as big and fast out wide. I believe come finals time we will be there”.

“We lost a few vital players from last season but managed to balance their loss with quality players. They are big boys with plenty of hunger and rugby experience”. 

“We have a few veterans in our ranks who have played years of rugby and their experience at this level will be vital to the team. We will be expecting them to take charge and lead the way”.

The national squad will be coached by Fijian Usaia Biumaiwai and assisted by Qatari, Talal Mualli.

Besides Qatar, the other teams taking part in the championship are Singapore, Pakistan, Jordan, UAE, India, Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, Iran and Bangladesh.