Bahrain Men and Lebanon The women have won the inaugural Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy – West & Central competition titles, leading a weekend of big announcements for rugby in the region.
Hosted in Aqaba, Jordan, the first iteration of the tournament coincided with a memorandum of understanding signed by 11 Middle Eastern countries, formally recognized by the sport’s regional governing body, Asian Rugby.
The West Asian Rugby Union (WARA) will see Middle Eastern nations come together to expand and boost the growth of men’s and women’s rugby in the region, following in the footsteps of sub-regional entities South East Asia Rugby Federation (SEARF) and Central Asia South Asia (CASA).
The winners of these three regional tournaments will qualify for the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series, serving as a regional pathway to the HSBC SVNS Series.
With CASA holding its first tournament in a week in early 2026, this indicates that the foundations are being laid for the sport to rapidly increase its impact on the Asian continent in the coming years.
WARA, which comprises the member nations of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, has outlined plans for the 15th and seven regional tournaments, which will be hosted by three member unions.
While details are still being confirmed, plans include Saudi Arabia to host a three-team XV competition with Lebanon and Syria, while Bahrain will host a similar XV competition with Jordan and Qatar.
A third tournament in development is set to take place in Qatar, in the form of a regional sevens competition featuring all 11 WARA members.
The signing of the MoU was attended and welcomed by Asia Rugby President, Qais Al Dhalai, and CEO Benjamin van Rooyen, with seven union members joining in person for the occasion.
“When unions plan the regional calendar together, more teams have the opportunity to compete regularly and more unions have the opportunity to host competitions,” Al Dhalai told 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, officials and match 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 further development,” added Abdallah Jammal, Rugby Asia Executive Committee member and co-ordinator of the WARA Management Team.
“In 2027, we plan to bring six syndicates together for the XV competitions in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, followed by the regional sevens competition in Qatar.
“Having three unions host the competition gives more members a direct role in delivering the program and gives more teams the opportunity to compete.”
Exciting events outside the park were further enhanced by the action inside the park, with the inaugural tournament held down the road at Ayla Oasis which saw 14 teams from nine countries take part in the men’s and women’s competitions.
In the men’s tournament, Bahrain ended their unbeaten run at the weekend as they narrowly beat hosts Jordan 7-5 in the pool stage before both sides beat Lebanon and Pakistan ie in the semi-final to meet again in the final, Bahrain won 26-12 to become the winner.
In a promising sign for Pakistan, they bounced back to beat Lebanon 29-7 in the men’s bronze medal match, with Mohsin Raza finishing top try scorer at the weekend.
However, Lebanon would find more success in the women’s tournament, finishing clean in the pool stages before beating Saudi Arabia 17-5 in the semi-finals.
In the decider, they faced the host Jordan, who defeated determined Syria 12-10 in the second semi-final. However, the hosts failed to match Lebanon, so they lost 22-0 in the final match of the women’s competition; and Syria beat Saudi Arabia 15-10 to win bronze.
With five unions taking the podium over the weekend, it proved a strong starting point for the tournament – with Bahrain and Lebanon also qualifying for the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2027 – opening the door for teams to make a run at the SVNS 3 competition in 2027 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 after the final results.
“Bahrain and Lebanon have earned their place in next year’s competition.
“Thank you to Jordan Rugby, Emirates and everyone involved in putting on a spectacular tournament in Aqaba.”