Reversing the talent drain - what UAE need to do to get closer to Rugby World Cup dream

National team got the closest they have ever done to a place in rugby’s biggest event. Now they need to reinvigorate the squad with youth

UAE will have to work hard and think long term if they want to qualify for the next Rugby World Cup. Photo: Asian Rugby

The UAE’s admirable quest for a place at the next Rugby World Cup finally reached its end at the weekend when they were soundly beaten by Namibia in Uganda.

The loss was predictable. After all, they were playing against a fully professional side coached by Jacques Burger, a great of the English Premiership with Saracens, who have played at the World Cup seven times themselves.

The fact the national team made it that far was a fine effort, their best yet in 14 years as a competitive entity.

For the tour to Uganda, the amateur players of the national team were biting into annual leave they might otherwise have wanted to use elsewhere. One player cut short his honeymoon to play. Another flew in fresh from getting engaged.

It had been the best part of a month since they had earned their place in the Africa-Asia play-off by finishing second in the Asia Rugby Championship.

Although they have fallen short of a home appearance at the final qualifier, which will be played at The Sevens, Dubai, in November, their exploits should be commended.

So, what happens next? After the massive strides that have been made in recent seasons, one area of concern when looking forward is the age profile of the side.

Many of the players who have brought the UAE to this position – their highest world ranking to date – will not be playing next year, let alone when qualification reaches its business end again in 2029.

Time needs to be invested in young players who will be better off for four years of international rugby experience.

That is easier said than done in the UAE. With no existing structure for professional rugby, retaining good young players within the country, and in a competitive system, has always been a challenge.

The improved performances of the national team have partly come about as a result of the willingness to cast the net beyond the usual confines of domestic competition.

UAE-qualified players have been considered from wherever they can be found, and their availability investigated.

Apollo Perelini and Jacques Benade, the brains trust of the coaching team, have raided their contacts books.

It has turned up quality players like Sam Bullock, Gerard Pieterse, Max Johnson and Jack Stapley; all based overseas but recalled to play for the country where they spent their formative years in rugby.

Change beyond that will have to be incremental. A move to semi-professionalising the game in the Emirates would take a massive shift, let alone having a fully professional set of players, as happens in the countries they are now actively competing against.

But they have shown over the past two years they are increasingly open-minded and nimble. A set of extremely talented Fijian players have been recruited to help develop the game among Emiratis.

They will qualify to play for the national team in due course. If they can have a similar effect to their compatriots, Sakiusa Naisau, Niko Volavola, Epeli Davetawalu and Emosi Vecanaua, it will serve the national team well.

Relying on readymade, imported talent has limits, though, and will mean the average age of the side will always be high.

There is no easy fix to reversing the talent drain. Even players who do not look abroad to further either their professional or playing careers, or for education, are not guaranteed to remain involved.

For example, Robert March, a product of British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, is set to be lost to the system after signing professional terms to play football with Al Jazira this summer.

But if they can keep as many as possible of the following players engaged, it would swell the player pool to the point where they could challenge Hong Kong for the Asian qualifying berth in the next sequence of World Cup qualifying.

Young players to watch in UAE rugby

Scroll through the gallery below to find out more about the emerging talent on the UAE rugby scene. Click on the 'i' icon to reveal a short profile of each player.

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  Nicholas Fritz - The jewel of UAE schoolboy rugby in recent years. He has left DESS College to pursue the game in South Africa, but remains UAE qualified. Pawan Singh for The National

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  Mohammed Ali - A product of the UAE Shaheen programme, the rapid wing is the most advanced Emirati player. Impressed to the extent he was included in the national team’s trips to Sri Lanka and Namibia. Antonie Robertson / The National

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  Heinrich Du Plessis - The national team coach, Benade, knows all about the talents of the young Dubai Exiles centre from the role he has only just given up as director of rugby at UAE’s oldest club. Photo: Jon Ebbitt

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  Mudiwa Mtemererwa - The No 8 could add power to the national team’s back row. Caught the eye in back-to-back final appearances for Dubai College at the Dubai Sevens. Ruel Pableo for The National

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  George Hipperson - Could play in the midfield alongside Jack Stapley at both club and international in the future, having joined Nottingham after moving from DESS College to the UK for university. Photo: Jon Ebbitt

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  Jamie Annand - Another Dubai Exile exiled to the UK, the fly half was namechecked ahead of the Asian Five Nations by coach Jacques Benade as being one to watch. Photo: Jon Ebbitt

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  Aaron Dubois - Had a troubled start to international rugby, having been sent off on debut against Germany. But the Dubai Hurricanes full back could have a big effect on the side over the coming years. Christopher Pike for The National

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  Angus Urquhart - Another DESS College graduate, who is heading to Hartpury College in the UK – the alma mater of players like Ellis Genge, Louis Rees-Zammit, and Catherine Richards, the Abu Dhabi-raised Wales and Great Britain sevens player. Ruel Pableo for The National

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  Tom Battiston - Apollo Perelini, the performance director, oversaw Battiston’s development from mini all the way up to senior international rugby. The young fly half is now at university in Brisbane. Photo: Dave Battiston

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  Henry Turner - A former captain of an outstanding crop of players who emerged from JESS, he is now studying at university in the UK. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Martin Mangwiro - An anomaly in this list: he moved to the UAE as an adult, and has yet to qualify for the national team. But he would make a massive difference judged by the impact he has made as a loose forward for Dubai Hurricanes. Ruel Pableo for The National