BEIRUT: The Barbarians beat Beirut Select 34-19 Sunday to claim the Ahed Club 7’s trophy rugby tournament. With the November sun providing perfect 7’s conditions, the tournament took the shape of a group of three rounds before the top clubs faced off in a final.

The Zenobians – who made the journey from Syria to compete – made their bow in the tournament alongside The Exiles – made up exclusively of Palestinian players – in a colorful tournament that also featured the Lebanese Rugby Union Federation newest team, the Gray Wolves and the Jamhour Academy team, whose players were all 18 years old or younger.

The Barbarians – a mix of League and Union players – and Beirut Select made up the rest of the teams in a tournament designed as a warm up before the Dubai Tournament this winter.

Generous refereeing and perfect running conditions allowed the tournament a certain attacking flair and aggressive offensive tactics as the Beirut Select and Barbarians overcame the Zenobians and the Gray Wolves to take their place in the final.

The final game started poorly for Beirut Select going down three tries to nil in the first five minutes. The Beirut Select team came back prior to half time with a try and conversion and they finished the half in the ascendancy. After the break Beirut Select took the game to the Barbarians and started to close the gap through some hard yards and movement of play, bringing the score to 20-12. However, with a few minutes left to play, the Barbarians got through the Select defense and took back the initiative taking the game away from the Beirut Select side with the final score 34 – 19 to the Barbarians.

The final result was: Barbarians 1st, Beirut Select 2nd, Zenobian of Syria 3rd, Jamhour 4th, the exiles of Palestine 5th and Gray Wolves 6th.

Nov. 20 will see the first Lebanese University Championship 7’s Rugby match at AUB from noon to 6 p.m. The special attraction in the tournament will be the newly formed Lebanese Ladies Rugby squad playing a special TAG game.