The 2012 Emirates Cup of Nations is the second Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted by the United Arab Emirates and will be again held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai. This tournament acts as a year ending tournament for tier 3 teams from different continents and provides greater preparation for teams to play in their regional competitions.[1][2]
Zimbabwe will send a weakened squad to the tournament, due to the clash with the 2012 South Africa Sevens, for which Zimbabwe has qualified.[4]
An earlier draw for the event [5] had six teams playing, with Papua New Guinea and Mexico playing alongside the four competing nations. However, both teams withdrew due to financial problems.
Belgium won the tournament, defeating defending champions Hong Kong on the third and final match day, 24-12. Hong Kong were runners up, with Zimbabwe taking third place, defeating United Arab Emirates.
Format
The tournament is being played as a single round-robin, with the winner being the leading team after the third round of fixtures. The points for the tournament were awarded for:
Win = 4 points
Draw = 2 points
Loss = 1 point
Scoring 4 or more tries in one game = 1 bonus point
Losing by 7 or less points = 1 bonus point
Try: Stewart Megaw 2, Kenneth Hsieh, Sebastian Alfonsi, Ian Ridgeway, Nick Hewson, Salom Yiu Kam-shing, Alex Baddeley Con: Mike Glancy 4 Pen: Mike Glancy