Dubai: The UAE rugby team finished 12th in the 12-team China leg of the three-stage Asian Sevens Series in Beijing on Sunday.
Roelof Kotze’s all-Emirati side lost 38-5 to Thailand and 50-7 to South Korea in the group, before losing the bowl semi-final 45-5 to Singapore and the 11th place play-off 53-0 to Malaysia.
The defeats mimic the UAE’s performance in rounds one and two of the series in Hong Kong and Malaysia, where they also finished last without a win.
Their results had improved in the last two events, following up just five points scored to 160 conceded in Hong Kong with an improved 21 scored to 135 conceded in Malaysia. However, the 17 points scored to 184 conceded in China leaves the squad with plenty to think about.
Kotze was using round three of the series to prepare for the Al Ain Sevens on October 31 to November 1, which will serve as a seeding event for the 2016 Olympic Games pre-qualifiers in Chennai early next year. The UAE’s target is to qualify for Asia’s final 12, from which one team will qualify to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
