DUBAI // Shane Thornton, a former UAE sevens coach, said he is stepping into the unknown with his participation in a new team entered in the UAE Conference.
As a long-serving member of the Arabian Gulf rugby community, the New Zealander has experienced most things the game has to offer here.
He oversaw the representative sevens side’s change from being the Arabian Gulf collective at the end of 2010 to a single-nation UAE side.
He was also at the helm of the Jebel Ali Dragons, as the side’s player coach, when they began their spell of dominance by winning the treble two seasons ago.
Now he is returning to action as the player-coach of his own multi-sports club, Heartbeat Tigers, in the second tier of domestic competition.
The new side, who have yet to settle on a home ground, travel to the capital on Friday to play Saracens’ second XV in their first competitive outing.
“We have to crawl before we can walk so we don’t know how this season is going to go,” Thornton said.
“Being a new club is always hard, especially at the start of the year. It is about getting more players on board and getting our name out there.
“We want to get the word out there that there is another club to play for in Dubai, as some of the other clubs have had 60 players to training and many of them won’t be able to get a game.”
Dubai Hurricanes second string start the defence of their Conference title when they travel to Jebel Ali Dragons on Friday, Arabian Knights host Dubai Sharks, while Xodus Wasps seconds travel to Sharjah Wanderers.
pradley@thenational.ae
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