2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)

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]

Not to be confused with 2012 IRB Nations Cup.
2012 Cup of Nations
Venue                 The Sevens, Dubai             
Countries United Arab Emirates

 Belgium
 Hong Kong

 Zimbabwe
Date8–14 December 2012
Champions Belgium (1st title)
Runners-up Hong Kong
Matches played6

The tournament is a joint initiative of the UAE Rugby Federation and the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.[3]

The four competing teams are hosts UAE, 2012 Asian Five Nations runners up Hong Kong, 2012 Africa Cup champions Zimbabwe and 2010-2012 European Nations Cup Division 1B champions Belgium.

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

Fixtures and results
Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points		 Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 Belgium (23)330014626+120214
2 Hong Kong (28)32018537+4819
3 Zimbabwe (30)31028364+1915
4 United Arab Emirates (96)300323210-18700

Pre-tournament rankings in parentheses

See also

References
  1. "Belgium XV to Emirates Airline Cup of Nations in Dubaï". Rugby Redefined. 2012-11-24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  2. "Emirates Airline Cup of Nations kicks off for second year". AMEinfo.com. 2012-11-22. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  3. "EACON - Emirates Airline Cup Of Nations 2012". EACON. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  4. "Sables depleted ahead of Emirates Airline Cup of Nations". The Standard (Zimbabwe). 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  5. "Sables lament poor funding". The Standard (Zimbabwe). 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  6. http://www.thenational.ae/sport/rugby/hard-work-pays-off-for-belgium-rugby-side%5B%5D
  7. "Al Azri relishes first UAE cap despite heavy loss to Belgium". archive.org. 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  8. "Hong Kong happy with 'a magnificent performance'". thenational.ae. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  9. "Hong Kong made to work hard by Zimbabwe". archive.org. 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  10. http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1103323/hong-kong-defeat-uae-emirates-airline-cup
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. http://sportkipik.be/articles.php?id_article=8166
  13. "Chiwanza shines in Sables win - NewsDay Zimbabwe". newsday.co.zw. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
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