Union | Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Arugby, Soundos |
Coach(es) | Matt Trail |
Captain(s) | David Clark |
First international | |
Arabian Gulf 20 - 64 Namibia (1993-07-03) Last international Arabian Gulf 21 – 19 South Korea (2010-05-14) |
|
Largest win | |
Arabian Gulf 97 - 3 India (2001-04-27) |
|
Largest defeat | |
Japan 114 - 6 Arabian Gulf (2008-05-03) |
The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players from Arab States of the Persian Gulf — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that represented the Arabian Peninsula area in international rugby union competitions. The team competed in international matches between 1993 and 2010, and was governed by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU). Associate members were Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
The Arabian Gulf participated in the highest tier of the inaugural 2008 Asian Five Nations alongside Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. After losing all four of their matches and subsequently finishing last, the team was relegated to Division One for the 2009 tournament. The team proceeded to win Division One in 2009, securing promotion to the Asian Five Nations for 2010.
However, on 16 January 2009, the sport's international governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), announced that the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union, which organised the national team, would be split into separate national unions and would cease to exist by the end of 2010. The first new union to be formed was that of the UAE, which became a full IRB member in November 2012.