UAE aiming for Asia Rugby Championship glory

Matt Jones - Editor 00:03 21/05/2016
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  • The UAE's Charlie Sargent scored a hat-trick against Uzbekistan

    The UAE go into today’s crunch Asia Rugby Championship encounter with Thailand in confident fashion following Wednesday’s rout of Uzbekistan – but the players know their sternest test lies ahead of them.

    Apollo Perelini’s men battered the tournament hosts 65-13 three days ago to set up a clash with the Thais who overcame Guam 25-16.

    Promotion to Division I of the ARC is the carrot dangling in front of both teams at Tashkent’s Dustlik Stadium today but Perelini’s players know they will be facing a different Thailand side to the one they thrashed 53-22 in Division II in Kuala Lumpur 12 months ago.

    “There’s still a lot of work left to do so we will keep our heads down and just prepare for the next game against Thailand,” said UAE and Abu Dhabi Saracens Number 8 Jaen Botes, who touched down for two tries in Wednesday’s demolition.

    “It was a good result, we played well and there are a lot of positives.”

    Dubai Exiles winger Charlie Sargent led the way for the UAE with a hat-trick of tries in triumph and also added a conversion.

    As well as Botes, Jebel Ali Dragons duo Imad Reyal and Ryno Fourie also crossed for braces, while Abu Dhabi Harlequins lock Phil Brady also touched down.

    Skipper Niall Statham is a doubt for today’s game after he was substituted before half time on Wednesday suffering an ankle injury, although the Scotsman is not letting that dampen his mood.

    “We were really happy with the win, we came flying out the traps and never gave them a chance,” said the Dragons flanker of a win that was the largest ever recorded by the UAE.

    It also marked the first time in their history that the UAE had won back-to-back games following their 16-12 win against Chinese Taipei in their final Division II match in Malaysia last year.

    “Thailand had a much tougher test against Guam and we’ve crossed paths a few times, but we’ll go in very confident after scoring 55 points against them last time,” added Statham.

    “I had to go off with a bad ankle about 30 minutes in so I’m a real doubt for the final but everyone else in great form.”

    Although the UAE are expecting a tougher test against Thailand today, South African three-quarter Fourie claims his side are also much improved from 12 months ago.

    “Last year we didn’t have so many good ball players and decision makers in the back line and I think this year that made the difference,” said Fourie.

    “The forwards were dominant up front too with guys like Daniel Minks carrying good ball and making great decisions in terms of knowing when to carry and when to pass.

    “This is definitely a result that we were confident in and now we need to finish it off on Saturday.”

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