UAE 36
Conference Barbarians 24
UAE: Tries: Hayes, Lewsey, Perry, W Al Balooshi, Ives, Swart; Cons: Stevenson 2, Bell
Conference: Tries: Volavola 3, Jasko; Cons: Elliot-Square 2
Man of the match: Niko Volavola (Conference Barbarians)
DUBAI // Apollo Perelini said his UAE side had shown much-needed character after mounting a fightback to beat a side made up of players from the second tier of domestic rugby.
The fixture between the national team and the Conference Barbarians was the UAE’S first warm up fixture ahead of next month’s Asian Rugby Championship Division 1.
The UAE face a team drawn from the top-tier Premiership next weekend, and might have been heading into that on the back of defeat, were it not for a late flurry of tries at The Sevens, Dubai.
While the Barbarians might nominally have been drawn from the second rung of the UAE game, they did have a hat-trick of opportunistic tries by Niko Volavola, a regular started for Jebel Ali Dragons first XV, to thank for their 24-12 lead.
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The UAE dodged what might have appeared an embarrassing defeat, though, on the back of four tries in the last quarter of the game.
“It is not about the outcome, it is how we get there,” Perelini, the UAE coach, said.
“We bombed a lot of opportunities, but I would rather bomb them here.
“I needed these two games for us to build a platform. You can train all you like, but if you don’t play games and face pressure, it is all a facade.
“This was our biggest training session, and at the end of the game we showed there is some class there. We scored when we needed to, and I wanted to see how much character we had in our team.”
The match followed promising news earlier in the day, after the announcement Japan will not participate in next year’s Asian Rugby Championship.
The Brave Blossoms are already qualified for the 2019 World Cup as hosts. The 2018 ARC is part of the final phase of qualifying for that competition.
As such, Japan will be omitted from Asian rugby’s top-tier competition next year, freeing up a space alongside Hong Kong and South Korea for the winners of Division 1 in 2017.
That competition takes place in Ipoh in Malaysia next month, when the UAE will be vying with the hosts, as well as Sri Lanka and Philippines to win promotion.
“That is where we want to be,” Perelini said. “Our ultimate goal is to get into the top three, and then see where we go from there.”
Robbie Cameron, who oversaw just one training session, and that without a full squad, was proud of the test his Barbarians side presented to the national team.
“We played well, and they [UAE] didn’t click into gear, but once they did we were under pressure,” Cameron said.
“I am really proud of these boys. One training session with 19 boys on Wednesday night was all we had. We got it together, and they enjoyed it.
“I am from the UAE. I’m a UAE supporter, and I want them to succeed in Malaysia. If they do, I hope they will look back at this match and think it helped them along the way.”
Asian Rugby Championship Division 1, Ipoh, Malaysia
Sunday, May 14 - Sri Lanka v Philippines, Malaysia v UAE
Wednesday, May 17 - Sri Lanka v UAE, Malaysia v Philippines
Saturday, May 20 - UAE v Philippines, Malaysia v Sri Lanka
Warm up fixtures
UAE 36-24 Conference Barbarians
Friday, April 28 - UAE v UAE Premiership Barbarians, Sharjah Wanderers
pradley@thenational.ae
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