UAE men clinch Asia Rugby Phuket 7s title, Thailand women remain unbeaten

UAE won the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy 2021 (played in 2022) Phuket 7s title in a dramatic fashion over Singapore 22-17, in extra time. Tied at 17-17, seconds before the final hooter, UAE made the most of the golden-try scoring opportunity despite failing an early penalty try conversion attempt.

In the women’s invitational series, Thailand A asserted complete dominance and defeated UAE in the final match with a score-line of 22-5. A solitary try in the end by UAE could hardly make it count.

Third place was bagged by Thailand A and Thailand B in men’s and women’s categories, respectively, in the seven series organized by Asia Rugby in association with Thailand Rugby in Phuket on April 9 and 10, 2022.

After beating the hosts in the semi-final 19-5, UAE set up to meet Singapore in the final who stunned Chinese Taipei 19-12 in the first men’s semi-final match.

In the gold medal match, Singapore did not only score the opening try but went one up and held on to a 12-0 lead in the beginning of the game. UAE’s speedster Mohammad Hatam stepped up and scored a brace as the team broke the Singaporean defence with their quick feet and wing attacks.

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One try each from both teams later with failed conversions forced the match into extra time. Hat-trick scorer from Day 1 Hatam sealed the deal in style after collecting an offload from Max Preston metres from the try-line.

First semi-final of the women’s invitational series was played between the two host teams. Thailand A maintained a clean-slate and booked the final spot without much resistance. UAE snatched a victory away from Singapore in the second semi-final with two back-to-back tries from Robyn Etherington.

Jayne Chan’s injury impacted the team as they failed to hold on to their lead and eventually succumbed to pressure from UAE. In women’s final, Thailand A went into attack from the word ‘go’ and took over their opponents in no time.

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They overpowered a rather strong UAE side with sharp reflexes, quick decision making and speed. UAE’s game faltered soon after and they withdrew to play defensive for the remainder of the match.

Golden try from UAE's golden man!! 🥇

Whatta win 🙌#AsiaRugby #WorldRugby #Phuket7s #ARST @uaerugby pic.twitter.com/ecvInCircL

— Asia Rugby (@asiarugby) April 10, 2022

Hosts Thailand won big in both categories as the men secured third and fifth places while the women’s teams won top honours with a gold and bronze-medal finish.

Thailand A got the better of Chinese Taipei with a scoreline of 21-5 in the men’s third-place match whereas Thailand B beat a spirited Singapore team 17-7 in the women’s bronze medal match.

Even as Chinese Taipei started the campaign on a promising note on Day 1, Thailand teams picked up pace to end the tournament on a high. Absence of Singapore’s two key game makers Hidayat Jeffrydin and Jayne Chan during crucial moments certainly hurt the union as they slipped from having the higher ground to falling in rank. Debutants Bangladesh impressed with their vigour and closed the campaign with a near-perfect last-minute try against Thailand B.

They secured the sixth spot while fifth spot in the women’s category was taken by The Briars. Follow the link to get access to the full scoresheet: Click here

Winners never quit… Bangladesh is just one example of that! 🇧🇩

Here's a last minute try that ended Bangladesh's campaign at #Phuket7s on a high! 😎#AsiaRugby #WorldRugby #ARST pic.twitter.com/V7FIF52SgO

— Asia Rugby (@asiarugby) April 10, 2022