World Rugby Sevens Series champions and Rio Olympics gold medalists defeated Qatar’s national team, the Camels, 58-14 in an exhibition match played at the Aspire Zone Warm-Up Track in Doha on Sunday.
The match was part of the activities lined up for the three-day visit of the Fijian team to the country which concluded on Sunday.
The Fijian team, who came on the invitation of the Qatar Rugby Federation (QRF), were also the special guests at the finals of the Qatar Rugby Sevens (QRF) League which ended on November 25.
At the end of Sunday’s match, Sevuloni Mocenacagi, who made his debut for Fiji in the first leg of the 2015/16 World Sevens Series in Dubai, emerged the man-of-the-match after scoring a hat-trick of tries in his team’s rout of their Qatari counterpart while Isireli Biumaiwai, who grabbed a try and a conversion, was the best player on the pitch for Qatar.
The Fiji national rugby sevens team, who were in Doha to acclimatize ahead of the World Sevens Series in Dubai which starts on December 1, excited the capacity crowd of rugby enthusiasts who defied the rain to watch the game with their superb skills and dynamic play on the day.
“We are very happy to play against the Qatari national team who are our first Arab opponent. Though the match was a non-competitive one but it has greatly helped us in our preparation for the Dubai Sevens. We’re really impressed with the facilities here in Doha and the passion for the game,” Osea Koliniseu, the Fiji national team captain said after the match.
“Qatar’s hospitality is second to none and the country has impressive credentials as a sports nation. We believe there is a great future for the sport in the country and we hope that the relationship between the two countries will continue to wax stronger,” he added.
While applauding QRF for bringing the team to Qatar, Koliniseu said, “The Qatari federation has tremendous passion for the sport and they are doing all they can to develop rugby in Qatar. Within a very short time, they’ve been able to achieve so much and this is a big plus to the credentials of the calibre of people on board of the federation.”
Qatar’s national team captain Abdulaziz al Dosari said, “Though we lost the match, but playing against a much more experienced team like the Fijians is a great boost to our game. The players have learnt from them and we are happy to transfer the knowledge to our play. We hope to have more of these kind of matches in the nearest future so that Qatar’s rugby can grow rapidly.”
QRF President Yousef al Kuwari said, “Hosting the Fijian squad in Doha is an honour for us and it has placed Qatar in high esteem as a sporting nation. The fact that the World Champions visited Doha is a great privilege in itself considering the amount of requests they receive from nations around the world.”
Meantime the Qatar national Rugby Sevens team the Camels departed Doha on Wednesday to participate in the Open Mens International divsion at the Emirates Dubai Sevens
