Less could be more for UAE rugby team in 2014

Test against Singapore may be only action national team see this year

The UAE national rugby team, pictured training at Zayed Sports City on April 26, 2011, could have just one Test on their schedule this year as Asian rugby undergoes a revamp. Pawan Singh / The National
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UAE rugby performance manager Roelof Kotze says he thinks it could be a blessing if the international calendar for 2014 contained just a solitary Test match for the national team.

The UAE will face Singapore at The Sevens in Dubai on April 23, their first official engagement since being relegated from the Asian Five Nations last year.

The Rugby Federation was still waiting for confirmation yesterday as to whether that will be the extent of their participation in the second-tier competition this season.

With HSBC opting not to renew their sponsorship of the tournament, which was previously known as the Asian Five Nations, the competition is in the throes of a revamp.

The 2014 campaign appears set to be a transitional season. Next year’s top division looks likely to involve just the top three teams, with UAE likely to be playing in an expanded second tier.

The dearth of Test rugby has been a change from the recent past when, for instance, the national team in 2012 played seven Test matches before the Asian Five Nations campaign.

Competitive action recently has been light. Even the practice match against the Uruguay Under-20 national team this week was essentially non-competitive because of IRB rules about senior and age-group teams playing against each other.

Kotze, who took charge of the UAE this year, is looking at the situation as a positive way of building the country’s programme for the future.

“With preparation time being so short this year it could work in our favour that there is only a one-off game,” he said.

“We can go full on for that one game, leaving nothing out there, and ensure we stay in division one for next year.

"Then, in the process of integrating Emiratis into our side, it also means there will be less pressure."

Kotze was presented with a two-point remit when he was appointed as UAE rugby’s third performance manager in less than a year.

His job includes maintaining the national team's place in Asian competition, as well as readying the national sevens side for participation in the Asian Games in September.

With the abbreviated international programme, he said it was even more important that the emerging Emirati players got involved in regular domestic club rugby.

"With this being a shorter competition, we have exposed a lot of boys to things they haven't done before," Kotze said. "They are keen to stay involved and not fall behind from where they are right now."

pradley@thenational.ae

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