Dubai: Arabian Gulf coach Mike Lunjevich lauded his side's character despite their loss to Ireland in the semifinals of the Bowl competition.
Lunjevich's side, a motley crew of amateurs with full-time day jobs, were handed a 24-5 beating by the Irish and their campaign at The Sevens ended in disappointment. But despite being the only non-professional side in the tournament, they commanded the loudest cheers from the crowd for their performances throughout the competition.
The Irish result aside, it is fair to say that the hosts got stronger as the event progressed. Having lost 19-0 to Tonga on the first day, their highlight in the competition included a try against the mighty New Zealand. Those five points in the 41-5 defeat against the All Black Sevens was followed by a narrow 19-17 defeat to Italy in their last group game.
Lunjevich hid his disappointment and praised his side for showing courage throughout the three competition days, saying: "For the guys this is going to be a big let down now that it's over.
"They had been preparing for nine months and now they won't know what to do with themselves," the coach said.
"It's hard to pinpoint anything that was lacking. I think the heart was there, the personality was there, the dedication was there, but when you've got amateur guys trying to get out and play in a World Cup against professional teams, it's always going to be tough.
"I think one-on-one my guys were up there and these guys will not be out of place in any international game. So we're probably lacking a bit of gas," he said.
Kyle Tonetti's two tries and one each from Felix Jones and Gary Brown, and two conversions from Tom Gleeson ensured the Irish won with ease. Marcus Smith's touch down for the Gulf side was also his second try of the competition.
Arabian Gulf will now turn their attention to qualifying for the top flight of the Asian 5 Nations Championship, which starts next month.
The Gulf men were relegated in last year's inaugural competition and will be eyeing a spot in the elite field once again.
Steve Cooper, the Gulf Sevens captain, said: "The focus now will be to get into the Asian 5 Nations Championships, so it's back to the drawing board for us."
