New-look format to boost rugby in the region

Dubai: The UAE has a new look rugby league format kicking-off today to fit its new administrative body, following the handover from the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU) to the UAE Rugby Association (UAERA).

The new system aims to keep every team in the region playing in competitive cross-border rugby, regardless of whether their own respective national associations have been set-up yet since the dissolution.

From now on seven teams will compete in the UAE Rugby Premiership and eight in the UAE Rugby Conference. The top three from the Conference will go through to the Premiership, likewise the bottom three from the top tier will drop down.

Regional tournaments

These two UAE leagues also feed into two parallel running regional tournaments — The Gulf Top Six and the Gulf Conference (similar to the Champions League and Europa League in football). At the same time the likes of Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait and Beirut will play out in a separate league the North Gulf Four, which also feeds into the regional draws.

The season culminates in an ARFU West Asia Final between the UAE Premiership and North Gulf Four champions.

What with rugby sevens accepted as an Olympic sport for 2016, it was the decision of the IRB to break-up the AGRFU into separate state authorities, to develop the game among young indigenous nationals, benefiting from their eligibility toward national government funding. It was deemed the AGRFU was no longer the right model to grow the game.

Fixtures

UAE Conference