Ipoh: The UAE’s 15s finished bottom of Division I in the Asia Rugby Championship in Ipoh, Malaysia, last week, but they won’t be relegated to Division II as had been expected.
Apollo Perelini’s side lost 36-22 to Malaysia, 33-17 to Sri Lanka and 34-26 to the Philippines.
Malaysia topped the group ahead of Sri Lanka and the Philippines, while the UAE finished bottom.
Usually the bottom side get relegated to Division II, but since top-three side Japan have already qualified to the 2019 World Cup as hosts, they won’t play in next year’s Asian Rugby Championship.
Instead Malaysia will go up to the top three from Division I to join Hong Kong and South Korea, and the winner of Division II will come up to join Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the UAE in Division I, but, in a one-off due to Japan’s hosting of the World Cup, there will be no relegation between the divisions.
