DUBAI // One of the stand out features of the UAE’s Asian Championships warm-up fixture against Lloyd’s RFC last week was the confidence with which the UAE team’s Emirati contingent carried themselves. That has not always been the case.
Ever since the new governors for the sport here started fast tracking rookie Emiratis into the national team, they and their colleagues have seldom appeared completely compatible.
That started to change last year, when Cyrus Homayoun and Adel Al Hendi looked the part on the international stage.
Neither of those two are in this tour group, though.
Homayoun, who was on the sideline supporting the side against Lloyd’s, was unable to secure release from compulsory military service, while Al Hendi signalled his unavailability because of a long-standing groin injury.
Yet, in their absence in the fixture against the touring London side on Friday night, there were still signs of promise.
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At the start of the game, Hassan Al Noobi, the Arabian Knights full-back, was entrusted with the responsibilities for line kicking.
Hareb Al Azri, a UAE Conference winner with Al Ain Amblers during the domestic season, scored a try and was making one-handed catches late in the game, even though he was the last defender at the time.
There was a notable togetherness, too.
A variety of scuffles kicked off in a game that was pleasingly high-spirited and when one started, Yousef Shaker — no longer part of the playing squad but helping out on matchday — was the first on site, fighting the corner of his erstwhile colleagues, be they expatriate or Emirati.
They were positive signs, which need to be perpetuated in official competition in the Asian Championships Division 2 fixtures against Thailand, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.
Qais Al Dhalai, the secretary general of the UAE Rugby Federation, who has piloted the Emiratisation of rugby here, said he believes the players are ready to show their worth.
“In four years, I have never seen those boys playing on the level they did on Friday,” Al Dhalai said.
“There is a great confidence in them now and all of this has come over time. We have given them a chance and that is our strategy.”
Apollo Perelini may have only just come on board as the UAE forwards coach, but he has had a long, independent involvement in coaching Emirati players at club and academy level.
“The reason they are playing more confidently is because they are playing alongside expat boys,” said Perelini, the former Samoa international.
“The expat boys have been awesome in that sense, very supportive, and they know their responsibilities when it comes to development.
“Against Lloyd’s, the Emirati players were running confidently, encouraged by the knowledge they had the players around them to be able to express themselves.”
Al Dhalai said the improving standards were down to the fact more Emiratis are playing club rugby consistently.
“If you don’t play club rugby, you will not be able to compete internationally. It does not fit,” Al Dhalai said.
“We have tried to give them enough time in international games, even if it is just five or 10 minutes, because it makes a difference for an Emirati player to play against Japan or Hong Kong.
“We also need to increase the number of Emiratis who are playing club rugby. They need to play in the Conference or the Premiership.
“We are trying to inject talented Emirati players into clubs. Without doing this, they will not improve.”
[ pradley@thenational.ae ]
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