All rosy in Quins garden

Peter Sampson of the Abu Dhabi Harlequins (then the Bats) dives for the ball during a match against the Dubai Hurricanes at the Palm Sports Resort in Al Ain in April.

ABU DHABI // Although many will see the Harlequins deal as the brightest flower in Abu Dhabi's rugby garden, the club have been busy planting seeds that will see many others blossom next season, according to the club's chairman. Richard Harris has been associated with Abu Dhabi's premier rugby club, formerly known as the Bats, for the last six years, where he was captain for two in his playing days and is about to mark his second season in the job as the club's chairman. Mr Harris was at the helm when the club's main sponsors, Etihad - the Abu Dhabi airline company ? helped set up the Harlequins deal, as they also sponsor the English Guinness Premiership club. Although he accepts how much the deal has done for the club's profile, Mr Harris believes the deal represents good exposure for the English Guinness Premiership side as well and that the club hope to groom players, including Emiratis, capable of representing the famous English side. "Yes we're very fortunate to have our name associated with a club as big and as famous as Harlequins," says Harris. "But they're getting something out of the deal too. They're getting a lot of exposure in an area of huge sovereign wealth. "Our profile is getting bigger and bigger and that's helping us attract a better calibre of player, as well as getting young kids more interested in the game. "Next season we'll have a few players who've played representative rugby and also a young lad who was with the Saracens (another Guinness Premiership side) academy. "We're also speaking with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council to try and bring them on board with helping the development of both the club and young Emirati players to get more of them playing the game. "That's just one of our focuses. We want to see more Emirati players at this club. We know Harlequins have a wealth of talent to choose from in the UK but if this deal develops how we believe it will we hope to produce players who they'll want to take a closer look at. "We want players and coaches who, should they decide to leave us, be comfortable at the same level at any club they go to." The first team will be challenging on three fronts next term having won the Arabian Cup last season. More recruits have finally given the team the confidence to field a second string side next season in the Emirates League. Mr Harris admits the number of players to call upon is a far cry from when he first joined the club with the team sometimes struggling to find enough players for a starting XV. Etihad will sponsor a host of junior tournaments next season and Harris says he sees the labours of his work to get more players involved at all levels of the game starting to bear fruit. "When I first joined the club we had no numbers," Mr Harris said. "We literally had to scrape around to find enough people to put a first 15 out, let alone worry about a second team. "Last year we had 570 registered players and we're hoping to top that this season. "The future is looking bright for the sport in Abu Dhabi. We've got 350 juniors on the books and 40 coaches dedicated to their development. "This year we're hoping to see all our hard work over the last few years pay off. All the structures have been put in place for us to succeed this year and beyond. We had a few teams in finals last year but this year we're looking to improve at all age levels and win as many trophies as possible." Part of Mr Harris' vision of seeing the club go professional by 2013 involves them finding their own home. The Al Ghazal Golf Club has long been home for the municipality side but part of the club's five-year plan will see them welcoming visiting teams to their very own ground. "They (Al Ghazal) have told us we can build our own clubhouse if we want too," said Mr Harris. "Al Ghazal have been good to us, but we generate a lot of income for them and they need us a bit more. "But having our own home would be our own income generator. That's something we've got to be looking at by 2013. We've spoken to Zayed Sports City about the possibility of playing our home games there, but we'll have to see what develops," he added. Although not everyone at the club was happy to see the team lose their traditional Bats name, it is hard to argue against the point that the deal has opened more doors in terms of commercial opportunities with the likes of the insurance firm Nexus and car giant Audi coming on board or increasing their sponsorship deals with the club. The club chairman wants to see the Abu Dhabi Harlequins model used as a template for the International Rugby Board (IRB) should it prove successful, taking the game to lesser rugby playing nations such as Thailand and other South East Asian countries.