‘It’s home vs home’: Conor Kennedy up for Zimbabwe challenge as UAE get set for first autumn Tests

Full-back will have mixed allegiances as he faces the team he nearly joined when the national team play the Sables

Conor Kennedy of Dubai Exiles is challenged by Matt Gilham of Dubai Hurricanes during the West Asia Super Rugby match at The Sevens in Dubai on October 25, 2024. Christopher Pike for The National

Conor Kennedy has chosen to represent the UAE in international rugby, but could just as easily have opted for Zimbabwe - the national team's next opponents. Christopher Pike for The National

Dubai Exiles' Conor Kennedy goes on a run against Bahrain during a West Asia Premiership rugby match. Chris Whiteoak / The National

UAE full-back Conor Kennedy lines up a kick while playing for Zimbabwe Goshawks at a tournament in South Africa. Photo: Conor Kennedy

As the UAE gear up for an assault on qualifying for the 2027 Rugby World Cup with an unprecedented programme of autumn Tests, one of their own will be completing a version of his childhood dream.

Tuesday night’s fixture between the national team and Zimbabwe at The Sevens, Dubai is the first time the UAE have played a Test at this time of the season.

Back in 2011 and 2012, just after the UAE had first been accredited to play international rugby, they hosted two quadrangular Test tournaments in Dubai in December. They finished last in both editions of the Cup of Nations, and the idea was shelved, meaning all representative rugby has been restricted to the domestic post-season.

The national team have come a long way since then. After years spent bouncing around the divisions of Asian rugby, they are back in the top tier of the continental game. Their aspirations soared after they beat South Korea and Malaysia in the summer, to claim second place in the Asian Rugby Championship behind Hong Kong.

Since then, they have been finetuning a plan to make a tilt at qualifying for the next World Cup in Australia. That tournament is set to be expanded to 24 teams, meaning an extra qualification berth is guaranteed for a side from Asia.

UAE celebrate their win over Malaysia in the Asian Rugby Championship at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai. All images Chris Whiteoak / The National

The UAE secured a second-place finish in the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC), their best placing in the competition

Fans cheer the UAE during their thumping win over Malaysia in Dubai

UAE's Jean Botes speaks with his Malaysian opponent at the Sevens Stadium

UAE captain Matt Mills after the win over Malaysia

UAE's Sakiusa Naisau celebrates the win on Friday

UAE technical director Apollo Perelini and head coach Jacques Benade

UAE defeated Malaysia 62-19 at The Sevens two weeks after claiming a historic first win over South Korea

The winner of the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship will qualify directly. That event involves Hong Kong, who are the highest-ranked side in it, as well as the UAE, South Korea and Sri Lanka. The runners-up will also get a second chance, entering a repechage qualifying process involving teams from Africa, South America, Europe and the Pacific.

That win over Korea infused the national team with belief. Apollo Perelini and the rest of the team’s think tank set about tailoring a programme to give them their best shot at qualifying. It has led them to arranging home Test matches against Zimbabwe and Germany.

The first of those pits them against a Zimbabwe side who are 28th in the World Rugby rankings, 23 places ahead of the national team.

The fixture also might as well be termed the Conor Kennedy Derby. The UAE full-back was born in Zimbabwe, but raised in Dubai since he was three, after his family moved with his dad’s job as a pilot with Emirates Airline.

He grew up aspiring to represent first the Arabian Gulf, who were the forebears for the UAE in international rugby, then the new national team that represents the country.

The nation of his birth did not figure in his thinking until he left his teaching job in Dubai and took a sabbatical in Zimbabwe, playing rugby.

He was picked up by the Sables, Zimbabwe’s national team, and was part of their squad for four months in the lead up to their own World Cup qualifier.

Having previously represented the UAE, he was at that point ineligible for selection for Zimbabwe in international rugby. As per World Rugby rules, he was serving a three-year stand-down period, having last played for the UAE in 2019.

Zimbabwe were happy to have him as part of their wider camp even though he could not play in their Test side yet. He played in their representative side, the Goshawks, in the Currie Cup competition in South Africa.

Conor Kennedy lines up a kick while playing for Zimbabwe Goshawks at a tournament in South Africa. Photo: Conor Kennedy

That tournament took place in June, and he only became eligible in September. Zimbabwe missed out on qualifying for the World Cup. If they had not, then he might have been playing for the opposition on Tuesday night in Dubai, rather than the hosts.

“The World Cup dream went up in smoke but I was in Dubai and spoke with Apollo [UAE rugby’s performance manager],” Kennedy, 28 said.

“He said I could stay and play for UAE. That had been an aspiration of mine since I was a kid, so I decided to stay and work, and try to play for the UAE.”

After some time playing rugby as a pro, including being briefly contracted to a club in France, Kennedy is back settled in Dubai, where he has a job in recruitment.

The colours of the team he represents may have changed back to what they were originally, but the goal remains the same: a shot at the World Cup.

“Now the UAE is on the same path, so I have been very lucky,” Kennedy said. “We will see. Maybe it will be second time lucky.

“[Facing Zimbabwe] is super exciting. From my perspective, it is a childhood dream. I grew up in Dubai, watching the Arabian Gulf, and not thinking Zimbabwe would ever be an opportunity for me.

“It was a dream come true to be involved with them, and this game feels like home versus home for me. It is really exciting.”

Conor Kennedy in action for Dubai Exiles against Dubai Hurricanes at The Sevens in Dubai on October 25, 2024. Christopher Pike for The National

The UAE have faced Zimbabwe before. Coincidentally, they were one of the sides who came to Dubai to play in the Cup of Nations in 2012. When they met 12 years ago at The Sevens, the UAE were ranked 96th on the World Rugby ladder. Zimbabwe were No 30.

The home team have made significant strides since, and are now up to 51, which makes them a more attractive proposition for sides of the calibre of Zimbabwe and Germany, according to Kennedy.

“The momentum shift came last year,” Kennedy said. “The UAE were playing Pakistan in the division below, and it was our chance to step up and say that we weren’t meant to be there.

“After that, there was a growth plan from Apollo and Jacques [Benade, the UAE coach] for when we would step up into the premiership and play Hong Kong, Korea and Malaysia. That was our chance to make a statement with the talent that we have.

“In terms of Korea, we weren’t surprised we beat them. Without being arrogant, we felt it was about time our talent in the UAE was recognised, and ultimately people only recognise results.

“Since the Korea game, we were all buzzing, on the basis that we were getting calls from Zim, Spain, Germany, Brazil, and all these other countries, recognising that we can play.”

Benade, who is Kennedy’s coach with the UAE as well as at club level with Dubai Exiles, says the matches against Zimbabwe and Germany are vital to help establish the national team in the higher reaches of the rankings.

“It is important that we do well in these two Tests so that other unions want to play us,” Benade said.

“You don’t always want to play someone ranked in the 50s. We want to move up and show everyone we can play rugby, and then you can get more Tests. Then hopefully you can build on that and become better.”