The Gulf rugby season reached a dispiriting climax this month when coronavirus put paid to any chances of playing again.
The winning teams were informed they had become champions via email and WhatsApp.
They won’t even have had the chance to celebrate together, either, unless they have done so remotely via Zoom or Houseparty.
It is all a far cry from this day three years ago, when Abu Dhabi Harlequins clinched a fifth title of the season on a day that must rank as the apex for the domestic game here.
All three of finals of the UAE’s main rugby competitions were aired on television. It was the first – and so far only – time domestic rugby has made it onto the small screen.
And not just the small screen, either. The action that day at Dubai Sports City was accompanied by a live feed on a 55-square-foot big screen on the running track next to the field.
Matthew Nesbitt had the honour of scoring the first televised try, as he dotted down for Jebel Ali Dragons III against Abu Dhabi Harlequins Barbarians in the first match of the day.
The inaugural UAE Rugby Finals Day culminated in Harlequins beating Jebel Ali’s first team 30-20.
It meant they clinched an unprecedented fifth major title in one season: Western Clubs Champions League, the West Asia Premiership and Cup, UAE Premiership and the Dubai Rugby Sevens.
Ben Bolger, the Harlequins captain, was one of the few players who had previous experience of playing on TV, from his time as a rugby league professional. Not that that was on his mind on finals day, he said.
“We have the opportunity to play each week with our mates, and I was more nervous about letting mates down,” Bolger said after the win over Dragons.
“A big pat on the back for UAE Rugby for providing this occasion. It was a great day, and a good touch to have it on TV.”
If Harlequins were the big winners, so, too, were the UAE Rugby Federation, who delivered their finest day since coming into existence at the start of the decade.
“It was one of our dreams to broadcast our finals day on the TV, and our dream has come true,” said Ibrahim Buhamer, the UAERF board member who did most to bring about the broadcast.
The standard of transmission was outstanding, including such staples of live televised rugby as super slow motion replays and referee’s microphones.
For LiveHD, the outside broadcast producer, rugby was a new addition to a portfolio that already included everything from professional football, falconry, camel racing to dhow racing.
“We have probably the newest equipment in the market, broadcasting rugby for the first time using stuff like super slow motion, and hyper motion cameras,” said Malek Doughan, LiveHD’s head of business development.
“That is stuff that has not been used before because the target audience of rugby internally wasn’t that high, so there wasn’t much budget for it.”
