UAE women's rugby team aim to excel in Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy

The UAE women's rugby team has arrive in Doha carrying high hopes and great expectations ahead of their participation in the prestigious continental Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy.

The highly-anticipated tournament will take place until Sunday, November 5.

The team comprises 17 players and will be assisted by coaching and administrative staff. The delegation is led by board member Fawzia Mohammed Faridoun.

National team coach Apollo Berlini, assisted by coaches Philadelphia Orlando, Yusuf Shaker, and Nezar Mehran in administrative roles will oversee the team.

The 2023 edition will feature teams from host-nation Qatar, Guam, Uzbekistan, Iran, India, Mongolia, in addition to the UAE team.

UAE’s performance outlook is very strong, and it is anticipated that they will achieve positive results building on their outstanding performance in the previous edition. The team secured a bronze medal in the 2022 tournament played in Jakarta, Indonesia and clinched a silver medal in the Arab Championship in February 2023.

The Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy Tournament is one of the most important, official tournaments in which the UAE women's team participates, featuring young Emirati talent alongside players who meet the participation criteria according to the World Rugby rules.

Board member Fawzia Mohammed Faridoun said: "We aspire to achieve positive results in the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy, with a distinguished, committed group of talented players.

“We have confidence in their ability to deliver exceptional performance in the tournament.

"Women's rugby in the UAE has witnessed significant development across all age groups,” Fawzia added. “The under-18 and under-20 girls' teams won the Asia Sevens titles last year. The under-18 team also retained their title for the second consecutive year.

"We aim to continue our achievements and ascend in the Asia Rugby Sevens series," she continued.

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It is worth mentioning that the UAE women's team clinched the West Asia Sevens title in Doha in 2021.

The squad (Club/Province)

1 Tara Cooney - Phoenix

2 Nour Ennaoui - Hurricanes

3 Robyn Etherington - Exiles

4 Kayla Ackerman - Exiles

17 Fatma Allengawi – Al Maha