The Arabian Gulf left Sri Lanka with heads held high after coming agonisingly close to reaching next year's Rugby World Cup 7s finals in Hong Kong.

Paul Austin's side went out of the Asian qualifying tournament at the quarter-final stage, losing 14-12 to eventual runners-up Chinese Taipei.

The result meant the Gulf missed out on one of the three World Cup qualification slots up for grabs in the hill station of Kandy, But there was some consolation with a commanding 24pts-12 defeat of China in the Plate semi-finals before going down to Sri Lanka in the final. It was the defeat, though, against Chinese Taipei which showed just how far the Gulf have come in recent seasons.

After slipping 14pts-nil down at the break, Paul Austin's side roared back into contention with a try from Rob Subbiani (Bahrain), superbly converted from the touchline by Stephen Cooper (Dubai Exiles).

And Doha's Tim Nunan then closed the gap to two points as he crashed over following excellent approach work by skipper Paul Austin.
An upset appeared on the cards, but the Gulf's desperate efforts to claim the lead for the first time came to nothing and Chinese Taipei collapsed to the turf in relief at the final whistle after a frantic finale. The team's subsequent smooth passage to the final - and with it automatic qualification for Hong Kong - left the Gulf wondering at what easily might have been.

Head of rugby Darryl Weir said: "Overall, I'm really disappointed for the players because they have worked so hard over the past few months, and our place in the World Cup ultimately hinged on just two points. That's sevens for you.
"But there are so many positives for us to take away from this tournament. We far exceeded the expectations of so many people. No one gave us a chance here and we surprised people with the quality of our play, our tactics and fitness. It was a phenomenal effort by the squad."

After the Chinese Taipei defeat, the Gulf played China in the Plate semi-finals. China were first on the board but again the Gulf stormed back with Paul Austin pulling back a try before half time and Amir Mohamed (Dubai Dragons) then putting his side in front for the first time with a converted score.
Austin then stretched the lead and Cooper wrapped up the spoils with a solo effort he also converted.

In the final, Sri Lanka, cheered on by a partisan capacity crowd, stretched into a 12-nil lead before two tries from Nicoli De Marco (Dubai Dragons), both converted by Cooper, put the Gulf in front.
But the hosts gained first blood after the turnaround, and although Cooper briefly levelled affairs with a try, two further scores gave the home side victory.
Weir added: "It was very hard, after failing to achieve our ultimate goal, to pick things up and focus again so to reach the final was a very brave squad effort."

Pre-tournament favourites Japan and Chinese Taipei claimed the first two qualification places merely by reaching the final which proved to be an anti-climax.
But the last slot was the grand prize at stake in the third/fourth play-off, Korea out muscling the fast-improving Thailand squad 31-7 to book their places on the plane.

Results:
Bowl semi-finals: Singapore 12 Guam 24, Kazakhstan 44 India 12. Bowl final: Kazakhstan 20 Guam 5.
Cup quarter-finals: Korea 39 Malaysia 0; Japan 47 Sri Lanka 5; Thailand 38 China 0; Chinese Taipei 14 Arabian Gulf 12.
Cup semi-finals: Japan bt Korea; Thailand 17 Chinese Taipei 24.

Final: Japan 38 Chinese Taipei 19.
Plate semi-finals: Sri Lanka 29 Malaysia 7; China 14 Arabian Gulf 24.
Final: Sri Lanka 31 Arabian Gulf 19.
Third/fourth play-off: Korea 31 Thailand 7.

Rugby World Cup 7s qualifiers: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Korea.