Dubai: Emirati Cyrus Humayon replaces compatriot Mohannad Saker in one of the two changes to the UAE Rugby squad that drew with Sri Lanka in their opening HSBC Asian 5 Nations match last weekend. Mike Riley comes in place of Stephan Imbert in the 22-man UAE squad that will face Kazakhstan in their first home match at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City on Friday.
The UAE team, which came off the park with a draw from their meeting with Sri Lanka in the opening round at the quagmire-like Colombo Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club last weekend will be hungry for a decisive win when they square up against Asia's current number two ranked team. They will, however, need to consolidate and dig deep as Kazakhstan, after suffering a resounding loss to Hong Kong in their opening game, will be looking at this match to rebuild and regain confidence.
UAE coach Bruce Birtwistle is confident the team has the aptitude to claim this much-needed victory. "Our game against Sri Lanka provided us with numerous platforms on which to assess and refine our tactics. As a team we performed well under the incredibly difficult conditions which in itself is a valuable learning and development tool" said Birtwistle. "We are confident that we can build on this and deliver a positive result against Kazakhstan this weekend."
After round one Hong Kong moved to the top of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations table with five points, while Sri Lanka and the UAE are level on three points. Kazakhstan are yet to make a dent on the rankings. Last year's winners, Japan, are yet to play their opening game.
"Sri Lanka was a good start but after a draw this is now a really important game in which to do well," said Ian Bremner, UAE Rugby CEO. "We need to consolidate and finish strong in order to position ourselves on the field and on the points table as a serious contender for a podium finish," he added.
