On the first day of the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy, which was held over two days in Doha, Qatar, Bahrain advanced to the cup stage with one win and one draw in the 16-team competition.
They started the tournament with a comprehensive 22-5 victory over their Iranian opponents, with Jack Phillips scoring three tries. Greg Heath also contributed by scoring a try.
The victory propelled Bahrain into the cup stage, where they were placed in a group with India, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, who they faced in the second match of the day.
A combative Uzbekistan side looked set to beat Bahrain until the Reds came back from the brink with three timely tries to tie the game 19-19.
An unbeaten run in the first two games means Bahrain are still in the competition, but today they will face tough opponents in India and Afghanistan.
“It was really important that we fought back in the second leg and saved the draw,” Bahrain Rugby Union director of rugby Rory Drummond told GDN.
“This puts us in a corner, but we have two big games today.
“As an unranked team competing in the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy for the first time, we have already surprised some people and we hope to continue that today.”
This is the Bahrain team’s second international competition, following their memorable first international competition, which was won by the Reds at the Jordan Sevens Tournament in Amman just last month.
The Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy will serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Asia Rugby Sevens Series.