Dubai: The UAE's 22-man national rugby team to face Tunisia in a friendly at the National Rugby Stadium in Tunis on Friday has been announced.

No less than 10 new caps will be presented after a number of players recently became eligible to play for the country after satisfying the IRB's three-year residency stipulation. A late change to the squad sees Mohammad Hassan replace Mohanned Shaker, who broke a bone in his hand in training this week.

Duncan Hall, the UAE Rugby Association's preformance manager, expects a difficult test against the 2011 African Cup runners-up, who are currently ranked 37th in the IRB World Rankings.

Hall said: "Mentally and physically Tunisia is a strong, tight unit and they have a number of players that benefit from European and French (rugby) influences.

"The quality and determination is there [in the UAE squad] despite a lack of test match experience. We've been working on all areas of the breakdown and putting together multi phases. We are looking at having a solid first phase for our backs to attack off and of course show we can score tries. In all Friday will be a good test of how our players can adapt and perform under pressure."

The friendly acts as a warm-up to the 2012 Asian Five Nations, where the UAE will play Hong Kong, Japan, Kazahkstan and Korea in the Top Five between April 27 and May 26. Last year the UAE finished a record third in Asia's top round-robin - now consolidating that position remains a challenge.

UAE RA board member Qais Aldhalai said: "It is important we continue to work with our neighbouring unions and provide our respective national squads with the opportunities to develop at this level. We believe this game against Tunisia will give our squad the chance to create stronger synergy and unity which will be integral to our Asian Rugby goals.

"We have a reasonable foundation from last years [A5N[ tournament, where we climbed one spot in the tournament rankings and retained our Top 5 position, however, we aim to be the best amateur side [in Asia] and will face very strong and determined opposition in Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Korea.

"The outcome of the Tunisia game will give us a clear indication of our performance levels and what steps need to be taken."