Bahrain, Lebanon make history in landmark event for Middle Eastern sevens

Bahrain Men and Lebanon Women have claimed the inaugural titles of the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy – West & Central competition, headlining a weekend of major announcements for rugby in the region.

Hosted in Aqaba, Jordan, the first iteration of the tournament coincided with a memorandum of understanding being signed by 11 Middle Eastern nations, which was formally recognised by the regional governing body of the sport, Asia Rugby.

The West Asia Rugby Alliance (WARA) will see nations from the Middle East come together to expand and foster the growth of men’s and women’s rugby in the region, following in the footsteps of the South East Asia Rugby Federation (SEARF) and Central Asia South Asia (CASA) sub-regional entities.

Winners of these three regional tournaments will qualify for the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series, serving as the regional pathway to the HSBC SVNS Series circuit.

With CASA holding its first ever sevens tournament earlier in the year in 2026, it points to the groundwork being laid for the sport’s footprint rapidly increasing across the Asian continent in the coming years.

WARA, which comprises member nations Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, have outlined plans for both XVs and sevens regional tournaments, hosted by three member unions.

While details are still being confirmed, plans include Saudi Arabia to host a three-team XVs competition with Lebanon and Syria, while Bahrain will host a similar XV competition with Jordan and Qatar.

The third tournament in development is set to take place in Qatar, taking the form of a regional sevens competition involving all 11 WARA members.

The MoU signing was attended and welcomed by the President of Asia Rugby, Qais Al Dhalai, and CEO Benjamin van Rooyen, with seven member unions joining in person for the occasion.

“When unions plan a regional calendar together, more teams have the opportunity to compete regularly, and more unions have the opportunity to host competitions,” Al Dhalai said to RugbyAsia 24/7.

“This is important for the development of both men’s and women’s rugby across West Asia.

“It also creates opportunities for coaches, match officials and administrators to share knowledge, gain experience and strengthen the game across the region.”

“The signing in Aqaba gives all 11 members a shared commitment to build on,” Abdallah Jammal, Asia Rugby Executive Committee Member and Coordinator of the WARA Management Team, added.

“In 2027, we plan to bring six unions together for XV competitions in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, followed by a regional sevens competition in Qatar.

“Having three unions host competitions gives more members a direct role in delivering the programme and provides more teams with opportunities to compete.”

The exciting events off the park were further reinforced by the action on the park, with the inaugural tournament taking place down the road at Ayla Oasis seeing 14 teams from nine countries taking part in the men’s and women’s competitions.

The men’s tournament saw Bahrain complete an unbeaten run across the weekend, having narrowly beaten hosts Jordan 7–5 in the pool stage before both sides defeated Lebanon and Pakistan respectively in the semi finals to meet again in the final, Bahrain winning 26-12 to be crowned winners.

In a promising sign for Pakistan, they recovered to defeat Lebanon 29-7 in the men’s bronze medal match, with Mohsin Raza finishing as the top try scorer for the weekend.

Lebanon would find more success in the women’s tournament however, completing a clean sweep of the competition in the pool stages before defeating Saudi Arabia 17-5 in the semi finals.

They faced hosts Jordan in the decider, who overcame a determined Syria 12-10 in the other semi final. However, the hosts were unable to match Lebanon, going down 22-0 in the final match of the women’s competition; with Syria defeating Saudi Arabia 15-10 to claim bronze.

With five unions making the podium across the weekend, it proved a strong starting point for the tournament – with Bahrain and Lebanon also qualifying for the 2027 Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series – opening the door for the sides to make a run at the 2027 SVNS 3 competition next year.

“The Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy provides unions across West and Central Asia with valuable international competition and a pathway to the Sevens Series,” van Rooyen said following the final results.

“Bahrain and Lebanon have earned their places in next year’s competition.

“Our thanks go to Jordan Rugby, Emirates and everyone involved in delivering a spectacular tournament in Aqaba.”