2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
| 2012 Cup of Nations Venue The Sevens, Dubai | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  United Arab Emirates Zimbabwe |
| Date | 8–14 December 2012 |
| Champions |  Belgium (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Hong Kong |
| Matches played | 6 |
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]
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) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 26 | +120 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Hong Kong (28) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 37 | +48 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Zimbabwe (30) |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 83 | 64 | +19 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates (96) |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 210 | -187 | 0 | 0 |
Pre-tournament rankings in parentheses
| 8 December 2012 | United Arab Emirates
|
3 - 94 | Belgium
|
The Sevens, Dubai | ||
| Pen: James Ham | Match Report Match Report 2 |
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 |
Match Report Match Report 2 |
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 | 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 Report 2 |
Try: Bastian Vermeylen, Mathieu Verschelden, Alan Williams, Penalty Try Con: Sebastien Guns Pen: Alan Williams 2 Cards: Alain Miriallakis  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 | 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
- 2011 Cup of Nations
- 2012 Asian Five Nations
- 2010–12 European Nations Cup First Division
- 2012 Africa Cup
External links
References
- ^ "Belgium XV to Emirates Airline Cup of Nations in Dubaï". Rugby Redefined. 2012-11-24. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
- ^ "Emirates Airline Cup of Nations kicks off for second year". AMEinfo.com. 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
- ^ "EACON - Emirates Airline Cup Of Nations 2012". EACON. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
- ^ "Sables depleted ahead of Emirates Airline Cup of Nations". The Standard (Zimbabwe). 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
- ^ "Sables lament poor funding". The Standard (Zimbabwe). 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2012-12-03.