Bahrain’s national rugby team returns victorious from the team’s first ever international tournament, Jordan Sevens, held in Amman, Jordan, last week. Bahrain Rugby crushed all other teams in the tournament, winning the trophy, 34-7, in a final against Jordan’s national team.
In the run up to the final, Bahrain defeated Kurdistan, 47-7, and Jordan Reserve, 37-0, finishing the tournament unbeaten in all the games.
Bahrain Rugby’s participation in Jordan Sevens is the national team’s first international tournament appearance, following Bahrain’s acceptance as member of Asia Rugby, the regional governing body for rugby, last year. The team’s next international tournament attendance will be at the Asia Rugby Sevens in Doha on 3-4 November.
Bahrain Rugby Federation (BRF) President, Nader Shaheen, commented on the team’s stellar performance, saying, “By winning its inaugural international tournament, Bahrain’s national team firmly placed itself among the teams to watch for in the Middle East and Asia in general. I am delighted for the team whose commitment to training and fitness was demonstrated in their commanding performance against the other teams in Jordan. This victory underlines the quality and the strength of rugby played in Bahrain and I look forward to seeing the national team win many more trophies in future. We are extremely proud of this achievement and the players’ devotion to Rugby Bahrain.”
Rory Drummond, the federation’s director of rugby, also commented on the historic win, saying, “We couldn’t be happier with the performance of the team against tough opposition from Kurdistan and Jordan. The team’s hard work paid off with everyone performing to the best of their ability, resulting in this historic victory for Bahrain. Part of my job at the federation is to increase awareness of rugby in the kingdom and I believe a strong national team performing at the very top level is one of the most effective ways of doing so. The team and I are incredibly proud to represent Bahrain and we hope wins like this will inspire others to try rugby in the kingdom.”
Bahrain Rugby Federation was established in February 2022 following the directives of His Royal Highness, Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth & Sports, Chairman of the General Sports Authority and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, in December 2021, to establish the federation. Asia Rugby membership enables Bahrain to field a national representative team in competitive and friendly international fixtures against the other 35 member countries of Asia Rugby.
Bahrain Rugby Federation aims to encourage, promote and develop the game of rugby in the Kingdom of Bahrain and contribute to the physical, psychological and mental care of the individual through sport, social and cultural upbringing in coordination and cooperation with all the sport establishments and authorities within the rules and regulations applicable internationally and in Bahrain; and to strengthen and develop the international relations for the game to achieve optimum sport representation at home and abroad.