When the domestic rugby season began two years ago without Dubai Hurricanes in the top flight, it felt as though Premiership rugby was missing one of its giants.
After all, they are one of the biggest amateur sports clubs in West Asia. At present, they have around 1,200 members across their rugby (700), netball (400) and cricket (100) sections.
Having been conspicuous by their absence among the elite for one season, they came close to completing a neat redemption story the following campaign, even if they did leave it late.
The Hurricanes did not win a match until January, after which their form improved markedly. They inflicted a first defeat of the season on Dubai Tigers, who had been the dominant force until then, and ended it with a UAE Premiership final – albeit one that was lost to Jebel Ali Dragons.
Now, the club are hoping they are timing their run back to the very top just in time to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They want some silverware with which to toast their silver jubilee.
“Two years ago we had lost a lot of players to other clubs and did not have a Premiership team,” Ross Clow, the vice-chairman of the Hurricanes, said.
“Last season we were back and went all the way through to the finals, and made it through to the final of the [Dubai Sevens, where they were beaten by the Tigers].
“We are looking to get to the Premiership final again, and for sure we are looking to be there at finals time in the Sevens, and hopefully bring it home.”
The club was formed in 1999 when a set of Sharjah Wanderers players were fed up of making the journey from their homes in Dubai to play and train in the neighbouring emirate.
They opted to set up a new team instead, managed to secure sponsorship from Mina Seyahi, and trained on the grass at the hotel.
The vast membership numbers are not the only thing that reflects the advance of the club since. Rather than a patch of turf at a hotel, they have long been residents at the immaculate rugby fields at The Sevens.
Now they also share a shirt-front sponsor – Emirates Airline – with the likes of Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Those shirts are integral to the club’s origin story. The club’s name stems from the fact replica shirts of the Wellington Hurricanes’ Super Rugby franchise were the only ones they could get hold of at short notice, a quarter of a century ago.
They needed 50 shirts – for the players and supporters – for the new team’s competitive debut at the Dubai Sevens. As such, they became the Hurricanes.
“It was a very social club back then and more about that than winning,” Ian Gregory, who is one of the longest-serving club members, said of the early days.
“We weren’t the best side, but it put the club in a good stead. Being so sociable attracted a lot of people.
“It speaks highly of the sport in general. When you move to a new country, you don’t know any people. When you join a rugby team, you instantly meet 30 people.
“Some you get on with very well, and some you don’t, but it is a great way to get used to a new country.”
Along with his brother Chris, Gregory was an integral part of the Hurricanes side that eventually overtook the likes of Dubai Exiles and Dragons to become regional champions.
Both still play for the vets’ side, while Ian’s three sons also play within the club’s mini and youth section.
The landscape of the game has changed appreciably since they started out, when Hurricanes were competing with established institutions like the Exiles, Dragons, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Bats (now known as the Harlequins).
Other clubs, such as Dubai Frogs, Sharjah Wanderers, Kuwait Nomads, Muscat and Doha have had contrasting fortunes in the time since.
The foundations provided by their thriving junior section (the Hurricanes will enter 32 teams at various levels of rugby this season) make them the envy of many of their rivals.
“There was a time when the minis and youth was focused on when the other clubs didn’t have the energy or time to do the same,” Gregory said.
“It was so important to have done that, because it just grew and grew and grew. It has been a huge success, even if there have been ups and downs with the first team.
“To grow to the size the club has now, there has been an evolution. They have kept the right balance and the whole club ethos just works.”
