Ian Overton scored a hat-trick of tries as the Bill McLaren Foundation ran out 50-10 winners over the UAE at Zayed Sports City on Friday evening.
National team coach Duncan Hall had asked for a tough match in what was his side’s last run-out before the Asian 5 Nations, and that is exactly what he got as Ali Thompson’s select XV ran in eight tries in a clinical display.
Abu Dhabi Harlequins captain Billy Graham got the charity side off to a good start on his home ground and by half-time they had built a 17-5 lead, thanks to further scores from Overton and Charles Lilley.
Bill McLaren Foundation pulled away early in the second half as they scored two interception tries in quick succession. First Murray Strang, who had converted the first score, took advantage of a loose pass in the UAE 22 to score before moments later Overton ran from inside his own half as Cyrus Homayoun was unable to collect.
A moment of magic from Jeremy Manning then allowed Ali Common to cross the whitewash before the New Zealander, who also kicked six points, profited from a smart break by half-back partner Kris Greene.
Ray Gilburt cut the deficit slightly but Overton had the final say as the Welsh winger completed his hat-trick with the last play of the game. Strang kicked the extra points to bring up the half-century.
The UAE were missing several players and Hall felt the charity team benefitted from the decision to allow them rolling subs.
“The Bill McLaren side had a lot of good individual players, they deserved their victory. We stayed in the game and ended up scoring two tries and, while we want to do better, a big advantage for them was that we allowed them to have rolling subs so they could stay fresh,” Hall said.
“We probably think we’ve had a bit of a setback certainly on the scoreboard. We need to assess the game, look at the video. We’ve got to do a lot of work on defence and ball retention.”
A crowd of a few hundred turned up, and Bill McLaren Foundation manager Thompson added: “In the UAE it’s always hit-and-miss and it’s just great to see lots of people come down, and obviously the papers got behind us.”
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