Upcoming & Past Events Abu Dhabi Harlequins Rugby Club

On Friday 14th January Abu Dhabi had their anual home tournament at their new ground in Zayed Sports City. Abu’s first game was against Sharjah who they have met in several previous rounds. In the first half Sharjah retained the ball well and moved it wide to score two tries. They played well but were ably assisted by Abu missing too many tackles which left the half time score at 12-0. In the second half Abu looked far stronger and more determined and came out with a well organised defense and not a single missed tackle. They didn’t concede another in the second half but unfortunately neither were they able to breach the Sharjah walls. Final Score 12-0 to Sharjah.

The second game of the day was against Doha Trojans. Doha kicked off and Abu shipped the ball wide immediately, Tilley popping a short ball to Davey who went through to score. Abu kept possession at the restart and Allard hit a good line to make the break and go over. Davey and Allard both went through to score another try each with Oliver adding three conversions to make the score 26-0 at half time. In the second half Abu consolidated their lead with two more tries from Davey. Hewitt marked her debut with a huge hit to turn over the ball and to score her first try for Abu Dhabi Harlequins.

The third game and final game of the pool matches was against Doha Oryx. Doha played hard and strong, using their power runners up the middle and taking the ball around the fringes to good effect. Again Abu where loose in the tackle which lead to several soft tries. McComish made some good hits in the second half and Hewitt consolidated her earlier game by securing the scrum well. However, Abu had no answer to Doha on this day with the final score being 24-0.

This then left Abu in the play-off for 5th and 6th position. Abu started poorly in defense, something which marred they play all tournament, letting in two early tries. There was some light however as just before half time Davey took a clean ball off Martin to run through and score. 10-5 at half time. The second half saw Doha again playing strongly and taking the ball through the middle. Abu, having played hard all day, began to creak and let in a few soft scores. Final score 45-5.

Abu Dhabi Ladies finished 6th overall, and showed many positives from the previous tournaments with a growing team!

Kellyann Davey