UAE’s rugby national team to face Kazakhstan on Friday

The rugby team of the United Arab Emirates will tackle Kazakhstan on Friday.

“Playing this match at home we are expecting to have strong support from the community, and the team is looking forward to having this home support,” said Ian Brenner, UAE Rugby CEO.

“We need to consolidate and finish strong in order to position ourselves on the field and on the points table as a serious contender for a podium finish,” Mr. Brenner added.

While the squad remains intact, it will oversee two changes made to the original side that faced Sri Lanka last weekend.

The players Mike Riley and Cyrus Homayoun will replace Mohammed Shaker and Stephan Imbert who are being rested.

“Our game against Sri Lanka provided us with numerous platforms on which to assess and refine our tactics. As a team we performed well under the incredibly difficult conditions which in itself is a valuable learning and development tool,” said Bruce Birtwistle, UAE Rugby’s national team coach.

“We are confident that we can build on this and deliver a positive result against Kazakhstan this weekend,” Mr. Birtwistle added.

This match marks the second round in the 2011 HSBC Asian Five Nations Rugby Tournament.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb of Al Arabiya can be reached at: [e-mail])