The annual Zurich Corporate Touch 6s tournament proved to be a huge success once again, with a record 22 teams taking part in its fifth staging.
Two tournament newcomers, Savills and Atkins, made their mark on the rugby pitch at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence on Friday March 4th as their teams battled through to take home the coveted Male and Mixed Team Winners’ Cups, respectively.
It was the first year either company had participated in the tournament, with former England international rugby union star Tom May on hand at the trophy presentation.
Under the captainship of David Abood, Savills won all four of their Men’s Group matches to reach the final, in which they took the honours 5-2 in a highly competitive match against Hill International.
The player of the Men’s Tournament was John Astrup of Zurich, who took part in both the Men’s and Mixed competitions, starring in a gruelling total of 11 games.
Atkins also won each of their five Mixed Group games under their captain Fraser Hudson, before beating the Saudi Scorpians 3-2 in the final. Team member Leanne Fridd also won Player of the Mixed Tournament.
We're in Jebel Ali today filming and conducting interviews at the Zurich Corporate Touch rugby 6s! Great day for it! pic.twitter.com/eURQyODjAo
— Sport360° (@Sport360) March 4, 2016
Fraser said: “Every match was really tough and we had to improvise mid-way through after two of our female players had to withdraw with injuries. The final match was extremely tight so it feels amazing to have clinched the title and we’re looking forward to defending it next year.”
Not to be left out, there was also an Under-7s Tag Rugby competition for those children wanting to take part in the action. Arabian Knights fought off the rest of the field, beating Heartbeat Tigers to win the Cup.
