Abu Dhabi: This weekend’s Dubai Rugby Sevens brings back happy memories for London Harlequins, England and British and Irish Lions winger Ugo Monye.
It was in this ‘goldfish bowl’ arena in the early part of the last decade that the 6ft 2ins Monye first caught the eye as a powerful and pacey winger, who ran 11.10 seconds as a 16-year-old.
Monye insists that playing sevens was a seminal part of his rugby education, despite being a less intense version of the 15-a-side game and a staple social occasion for revellers sporting fancy dress.
Monye, who was in the UAE recently to coach at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Harlequins Junior Rugby Festival in his role as HSBC ambassador, told Gulf News: “It’s a pleasure to play on that big stage and get that experience. Sevens is like a goldfish bowl, where your skills are really put under pressure.
“You play in front of 50,000 or 60,000 people and travel a lot. It’s exactly what top-level rugby is all about. To gain that experience from a young age put me in a good frame of mind and when you play at international level, that’s exactly what you’re going to face.”
As the celebrated former Roman general, Julius Caesar, once said: “Experience is the teacher of all things.”
The amiable Londoner would certainly subscribe to that, having undergone a rich education in the vicissitudes of life.
Six years ago, he was unable to walk due to a bulging disc on his sciatic nerve – ‘it was quite horrific’ – and is currently sidelined following groin reconstruction surgery in September.
A year later, extreme pain turned to paroxysms of joy when he experienced his greatest moment in rugby by scoring a try in the British and Irish Lions’ 28-9 victory in the third Test against South Africa in 2009.
“I don’t think you can achieve much more,” he said.
In his formative years at school, Monye was privileged to receive an incomparable lesson from a rugby master. Jonny Wilkinson, the man whose steepling drop goal clinched the 2003 World Cup for England after an 20-17 extra-time victory over Australia.
Monye, who was several years below Wilkinson at Hampshire’s Lord Wandsworth College, recalls: “I just always remember messing around as young boys at school, playing football or whatever, and he was always out there goal-kicking with his dad. He did that at lunchtimes, during breaks and after school.
“His dedication was amazing and it’s no surprise what he’s achieved as a man. He was a role model back then and I followed his work ethic.”
Preaching the unyielding graft exhibited by Wilkinson forms a central tenet of Monye’s coaching philosophy. “I tell the kids that catching and passing are the basic skills they need to practise,” Monye, who says his other rugby inspirations were the former All Blacks star Jonah Lomu and the ex-England wingers Rory and Tony Underwood, said. “But there’s no substitute for hard work and a good work ethic and attitude. You see a million players come and go who didn’t have that fundamental desire to work hard.
“If you can work hard and have a good work ethic, then you can achieve anything.”
Monye, who has scored 10 points in 14 internationals for England since 2008, is similarly upbeat about the prospect of the UAE becoming an emerging rugby force.
The 31-year-old said: “You see the likes of Kenya, the USA and Canada and the improvements they’ve made over the last few years. The progress they have made on the sevens circuit has been incredible.
“There’s no reason that UAE rugby cannot catch fire. Sevens will be in the Olympics in a couple of years [in Rio in 2016], so there’s no reason the UAE can’t have a huge presence on the sevens circuit and at the Olympics, too.”
Monye harbours a lingering hope of making a return to the international fold, despite his current injury predicament and the fact he has fallen down the pecking order having not donned a white shirt for several years.
A particular incentive is that his country will be hosting next year’s World Cup, although Monye says coach Stuart Lancaster and his staff have not given him any encouragement of a recall.
“I’ve had no real chats with them recently,” he said. “It’s important for me to get back as quick as possible and put myself back in the frame. Am I as good as any winger playing for England? Yeah, I feel as I am as good as any wingers out there.
“But there’s a wealth of experience and ability out on the wing at the minute. They’re all playing incredibly well, but I think on my day I can match any of those guys.”
He added: “It’s a massive honour to play for your country, although we are looking at a new era with a different group of players. But once I get back fit and I am playing well enough, of course I’d love to play for England again.
“In the last couple of years, the culture of English rugby has changed and we have become really tough to beat. We are certainly on the right path leading up to the World Cup next year.”
A prime reason for Monye’s relentless positivity and unwavering self-belief is his deep religious convictions.
His full name Ugichukwu Monye given to him by his Nigerian parents means ‘God’s Crown’ and he has a tattoo saying ‘Only God can judge me’ on his chiselled torso and one of a crucifix on his forearm.
“Faith is massive to me,” said the committed Christian. “It’s at the heart of me and moulds everything I do. We’re forever making mistakes and learning and the tattoos are a nice way to outwardly express my inner beliefs.
“I guess it just gives you a good grounding, having faith. It’s nice to that you’re looked after and feel secure and that everything will be all right. I know I will come back from this [injury] fitter and better. That’s the hope and that’s what I am working towards.
“It’s nice always to have that belief just to keep you on the right path and motivated.”
With such an evangelical zeal for life and rugby, the UAE would do well to welcome back the experienced and educated Monye for years to come.
