Tunisia comfortably win Arab Sevens
As one of Africa’s leading sevens nations, it was no surprise that Tunisia swept to a comfortable win in the second Arab Sevens, this year played at the Al Shazli Zouitan Stadium in Tunis on 25th and 26th February.
Published by John Birch, February 27th, 2022
3 minute read
Tunisia were absent from the first Arab Sevens,played in and won by Egyptlast year, but this year-with the tournament moved west along the shores of the Mediterranean to Tunis-both they and Algeria entered, replacing Syria and Lebanon. Egypt came to defend their title, and the United Arab Emirates again took part in the four-team competition.
As in 2021 the first day was a round-robin pool which decided the draw for the semi-finals on Day 2.
Tunisia put down a marker for the likely fate of the title from the opening game, when they beat UAE (third place in 2021) 63-0. The next game was slightly more of a surprise as Algeria had made their sevens debut in December with an impressive 28-14 win against Egypt in Alexandria in a qualifier for the 2022 Africa Sevens, so a 38-0 win for Egypt this weekend – while a win for the defending champions – seemed to go against form.
The second round saw Tunisia beat Egypt 34-0, while Algeria lost again, this time 10-5 to the UAE. The final round of games ended with a 38-0 win for Egypt against the UAE, giving them second spot in the pool, while Tunisia beat Algeria 45-0.
The semi-finals on Saturday were repeats of the final round of pool games, as were the outcomes and – very nearly – the scores, resulting in a final between the Tunisian hosts and the Egyptian reigning champions, won by Tunisia by a comfortable 49-5 – the Egyptian try being the only points Tunisia had conceded over the weekend. The UAE finished third, beating Algeria 17-5.
The third Arab Sevens will be played in the UAE next February.
Pool:Tunisia 63-0 United Arab Emirates; Egypt 38-0 Algeria; Tunisia 34-0 Egypt; United Arab Emirates 10-5 Algeria; Egypt 38-0 United Arab Emirates; Tunisia 45-0 Algeria
Semi-Finals:Tunisia 41-0 Algeria; Egypt 36-0 United Arab Emirates
3rd Place Match:United Arab Emirates 17-5 Algeria
Final:Tunisia 49-5 Egypt