Dubai: Dates for the UAE Rugby Eden Park Sevens Series were announced on Sunday. The series will be played over two Fridays; the first round will be played at Dubai Sports City on November 20 and the second round will be played at Al Ain Rugby club on November 27.
Qais Al Dhalai, UAE Rugby Federation (UAE RF) secretary general, said: “The UAE RF is very proud to bring the UAE Rugby Eden Park Sevens two-day tournament to the UAE rugby community for a fourth year, and we are delighted this tournament has become a firm fixture on the domestic calendar. This time of the year sees the rugby mindset shift sharply from the 15s to the sevens format and, with most UAE clubs participating in the Gulf Men’s Open division of the highly-popular Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, we are pleased to provide a strong platform for our clubs to prepare. We expect to see quality sevens rugby played and wish all clubs an enjoyable two-day tournament,” he added.
After Shaheen’s performance at the recent Dubai Airports International Sevens Tournament, Apollo Perelini (Shaheen’s sevens and 15s Coach) believes his charges will be in a good position to capitalise on the experience and put forward another quality performance at the Eden Park Sevens.
“We’ve seen reasonable progress with the Emirati players over the past few months. And by being exposed to another high-level sevens tournament, and participating in the Eden Park Sevens, I am confident these players will develop a stronger belief in their skills and gain more trust in their abilities. We’ll be fielding two (all-Emirati) Shaheen teams and the aim at series end will be to select a strong Emirati side to contest the Gulf Men’s Open division at the Dubai Rugby Sevens. I’m looking forward to seeing how both Shaheen sides perform in the tournament,” he added.
