The “HURRICANE TOUCH RUMBLE 2017” – Qatar Men’s Open Touch rugby tournament organized by the Hurricane Storm Touch Rugby Club – Doha in collaboration with Qatar Touch concluded on a high note on the 13th of October 2017. The Doha Chiefs claimed the championship title defeating unbeaten tournament favourites Doha Cockatoo’s 1 try to 0 .
In the cup finals for the Chief’s Tim Newnham crossed over for the winning try early in the second half and with it claimed the man of the match title. The undefeated Cockatoos went into the finals as favourites however they failed to capitalise on their younger opponent’s mistakes. They struggled to convert possession into points and opted to play up the centre rather than using their speed out wide.
It was a full day event that hosted 12 prominent teams in Qatar which were represented by a blend of Sri Lankans and foreign nationals who displayed some fascinating games of touch rugby and sportsmanship throughout the day. Teams which competed were, Doha Tigers, Barbarians, Babies, SherborneCubbs, Mavericks, Eagles, Chiefs, Bandits, Wandies, Cockatoos, Green Warriors and the Untouchables.
The initiative to open up the tournament was a huge hit amongst teams. The pool of players were evenly spread and as the results indicate, it was very hard to pick an early winner. According to Hans Thomasz, the former St. Benedicts College rugby star and The Hurricane Storm TRC president “ The effort put forward by the Executive Committee members spear headed by their dynamic secretary Buddhika Punchibandara and all members of the club to make the tournament a success was tremendous”
The organizing committee extended a special thanks to the tournament sponsors and partners included Platinum Sposnor: Bloomsbury Holiday Resort – Sri Lanka, Gold Sponsor: Ooredoo, Well On Restaurant, Puncha’s Rent A Car, Silver Sponsor: Blue lake Insurance Brokers, and other sponsors Al Safa Polyclinic, McDonalds, Total Sports, Al Jabr Opticians, Nice Drinking Water and Ali Bin Ali Pepsi, Dr Philip Mwashe, Harun Roy and Qatar Touch.
The Hurricane Storm Touch Rugby club Doha was established in 2012 and has won several titles in major tournaments in the past. The most recent being the champions of the Qatar Beach Rugby Championship held in February 2017.
RESULTS
Cup Final : Chiefs 1 – Cockatoos 0
Plate Final : Untouchables – 3 Mavericks 0
Bowls Final : Bandits 2 – Babies 1
