Asia Rugby Sevens 2021 reduced to single leg in UAE

By Shamseer Jaleel

The Asia Rugby (AR) Sevens event for 2021 will be worked off in the UAE on 19 and 20 November. 

Earlier there were two events to be kicked off but due to the current pandemic and travel restrictions this has been reduced to a single leg. 

Months earlier the proposed first leg which was to take place in South Korea too was cancelled. The original AR’s original plan was to hold the events in South Korea, China and Sri Lanka.

The UAE event during November will host 16 teams, both men’s and women’s, with the tournament being run concurrently. This event will act as Asian Qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 to be held in South Africa and as a ranking tournament for the Asian Games 2022 which will be held in Hangzhou, China next year.

There will be an invitational sevens tournament taking place in Colombo organised by Sri Lanka Police and Sri Lanka Air Force which is scheduled to take place at Police Park during the month of October. 

According to a reliable source this event will be used as a yardstick for the sevens outfit selection for the Asia Rugby Sevens 2021 which is to take place in UAE. According to sources already Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Navy, CH & FC and Havelock SC have confirmed their participation in this tournament. 

The last event organised by Sri Lanka Rugby was the Inter Club XV-a-side event which ended in February 2020. The Clifford Cup for the same year could not take place due to the pandemic around the globe. 

Both CH & FC and Sri Lanka Air Force featured in the Commander’s Cup rugby event which took place in Ratmalana with two matches.