Iran v Lebanon
In a dramatic climax to the Iran v Lebanon match played at the Dustlik Stadium in Tashkent, the Lebanese captain, Karim Jammal, lead with his boot and kicked a sideline penalty in the dying seconds to clinch victory over Iran winning 25-24.
Jammal showed extreme composure in slotting the pressure-cooker penalty and with it, compiled a personal tally of 20 points as he lead his Lebanese side to victory over an Iran side looking for their first victory of the Championship.
With the lead changing hands multiple times throughout the match, the kicking of Jammal proved the difference between the two sides as Iran, despite scoring four tries to Zadeh, Dashtbayaz, Nazarabad and Yaghoti, were left to rue a number of missed kicks from relatively easy locations.
In a somewhat scrappy match, Lebanon’s solitary try came through a Penalty Try following a dominant scrum 5 metres out from the line that left referee Lee with no other option after Iran continuously wheeled their scrum as they tried to disrupt the Lebanon tight-five.
The 1-point win (25-24) for Lebanon sets up a thrilling finale on Friday as hosts, Uzbekistan will be looking to go one better than last Saturday’s draw (13-13) versus Iran and with it, secure the Asia Rugby Championship Division III West title in front of their home fans.
Asia Rugby Championship
| 22 Apr – 3 Jun | Asia Rugby Championship 2017 | Hong Kong . Japan , Korea | ||
| 14 May – 20 May | Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Div 1 | Ipoh Padang, Ipoh, Malaysia | ||
| 15 Nov – 18 Nov | Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Div 2 | Taipei Municipal Stadium, Chinese Taipei | ||
| 25 Mar – 31 Mar | Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Div 3W | Dustlik Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
The originally named Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) was founded in 1968 and now has 31 member unions across the length and breadth of the continent. Participation, together with the number of competitions over the past decade, has increased significantly, with now over 30 rugby events taking place each year.
The men’s 15’s Asia Rugby Championship (ARC), began in 1969 as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament (ARFT), and was, at that time, one of the oldest international Rugby tournaments in the World. The highly respected, ground-breaking, Asia Rugby Sevens Series (ARSS) is held over 3 legs and features the best 8 men’s and women’s teams in the Region. The ARSS is supported by the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy series which incorporates promotion and relegation. In addition, Asia Rugby also stages Age Grade competitions for male and female players.
