DUBAI // Tom Stapley, a Dubai rugby player on trial with Ulster, will be on the bench for the Irish province’s A team against Canada A on Friday.
The Dubai Exiles centre has spent the summer training with the Pro 12 club in Northern Ireland, on the recommendation of the Exiles coach Jacques Benade.
Having impressed in two matches in recent weeks, for the Ulster Academy against their equivalents from London Irish and French club Aurillac, he has been named among the replacements for the A side.
See also:
• Paul Radley: Dubai schoolboy Tom Stapley plans trip to train with Ulster after mixing it with the men at Exiles
• Paul Radley: Onojaife brothers, products of Dubai, step up to pros in the English Premiership
• Paul Radley: Dubai schoolboy, Rory Arthur, 'excited' to train with Saracens in England
“He is doing unbelievably well, it is just unreal,” said Benade, who coached in Northern Ireland before moving to Dubai a year ago.
“If he gets the chance to play, he should just go and enjoy it. He is a big guy, but he has so much skill as well.”
Stapley, 18, only played his first game of senior men’s rugby in January, when he plugged a gap in the Exiles midfield during an availability crisis in the top flight of the domestic game.
The former Jumeirah College pupil had originally aspired to a career as a goalkeeper in football, but is now impressing in his bid for a professional contract in rugby.
Benade says he was happy to provide a reference for him to try out in Ulster.
“If you recommend someone you are putting your name next to that player,” Benade said.
“It is very important. I’m sure there are a lot of players who would love to have that opportunity, but as a coach you have to be realistic about who is capable of doing it.
“I think Tom definitely has that potential. He hasn’t had too much rugby, coming from the school game here where there are perhaps four matches per year.
“There are some really quality rugby players here in schools, but I think Tom stood out because of his size, raw talent, and his attitude. I think he can definitely only get better.”
In an intriguing quirk of timing, Stapley could be playing a warm-up role for another product of Jumeirah College and Dubai Exiles.
The Ulster A fixture is part of a pre-season double-header in Belfast, with the first XV set to face a Northampton Saints side that includes Jordan Onojaife in their ranks.
Onojaife, who played for the Exiles youth team while a schoolboy in the city, has been named among the replacements for the English Premiership side in the friendly match.
Onojaife’s younger brother Devante, another graduate of Dubai and the Exiles youth team, is also among the professional ranks at Northampton.
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