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

8 December 2012 United Arab Emirates  3 - 94  Belgium The Sevens, Dubai  
Pen: James Ham Report[6]
Report 2[7]		 Try: Thibaut Andre 3,
Alan Williams 4,
Kevin Dams 3,
Eliot van Trappen,
Alain Mirialakis,
Carlos Fierro,
Maxime Jadot
Con: Alan Williams 12
8 December 2012 Hong Kong  22 - 7  Zimbabwe The Sevens, Dubai  
Try: Tom McColl
Con: Christopher McAdam
Pen: Christopher McAdam 5
Cards: Johnathan Rees		 Report[8]
Report 2[9]		 Try: Steven Hunduza
Con: Linience Tambwera
11 December 2012 United Arab Emirates  6 - 51  Hong Kong The Sevens, Dubai  
Pen: Chris Burch,
James Ham		 Report[10] 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
11 December 2012 Zimbabwe  11 - 28  Belgium The Sevens, Dubai  
Try: Takunda Chifokoyo
Pen: Tichafara Makwanya 2
Cards: 3 yellows		 Report[11]
Report2[12]		 Try: Bastian Vermeylen,
Mathieu Verschelden,
Alan Williams,
Penalty Try
Con: Sebastien Guns
Pen: Alan Williams 2
Cards: Alain Miriallakis Red card 53'
14 December 2012 Belgium  24 - 12  Hong Kong The Sevens, Dubai  
Try: Thomas de Molder,
Sebastien Guns
Con: Alan Williams
Pen: Alan Williams 3,
Carlos Fiero		 Pen: Chris McAdam 4
14 December 2012 United Arab Emirates  14 - 65  Zimbabwe The Sevens, Dubai  
Try: Ross Combe
Pen: James Ham 3		 Report[13] Try: Kudakwashe Chiwanza 3,
Shingi Mpofu,
Takunda Chifokoyo,
Simba Chirimuuta,
Biselele Tshamala,
Jan Ferreira,
Tichafara Makwanya
Con: Lenience Tambwera 7
Pen: Lenience Tambwera 2

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. "Hard work pays off for Belgium rugby side with 94-3 win over UAE - Th…". Archived from the original on 14 January 2013.
  7. "Al Azri relishes first UAE cap despite heavy loss to Belgium". 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". 10 December 2012. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  10. "Hong Kong defeat UAE in Emirates Airline Cup".
  11. "Sables lose again". Archived from the original on 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  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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