Hall pleased with Shaheen progress

Dubai: The top official in charge of the all-Emirati Shaheen rugby team was pleased with the progress made by his players during the annual Sharjah Wanderers Rugby 10s held in Sharjah yesterday.

"There are a few positives we can take from for sure," Duncan Hall, UAE Rugby's Performance Manager told Gulf News. The team of all UAE nationals played three matches, ending with two losses and a win.

Shaheen lost 10-7 to the hosts, Sharjah Wanderers, in their opening match, but helped themselves to a 45-0 drubbing of Fujairah in their second match. But facing a strong Sharjah for a second time, Shaheen couldn't sustain their defence as their opponents ran over three tries for a 17-0 win in the semi-finals.

Sharjah went on to beat Dubai Dragons in the final.

"Our team kept on improving through the day," Hall said. "And even though we had some injuries to put up with, the substitutes pitched in with some handy performances. This is all a part of the development process and I am pleased with what we achieved after our three matches." Shaheen's next immediate assignment will be a three-round series against Afghanistan at the end of April. "But we need to first try and get some lead-in matches before we take on Afghanistan. Things will get clearer over the next couple of days," Hall said.

"The players can only learn from the mistakes they made and continue developing as a team."