UAE | General
Rugby in the desert
Not even the barren land, sand dunes and the blazing sun could stop a determined group of British expatriates from forming a rugby club here in 1977.
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:11 June 6, 2008
- The first sports club catering to expatriates living in Sharjah opened 30 years ago, and to this day continues to be as popular as ever.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Supplied Pictures
Sharjah: Not even the barren land, sand dunes and the blazing sun could stop a determined group of British expatriates from forming a rugby club here in 1977.
The first sports club catering to expatriates living in Sharjah opened 30 years ago, and to this day continues to be as popular as ever.
"Long before Sharjah developed, the Sharjah Wanderers Sports Club started out with a group of mainly British expatriates who played rugby. It was basically a sandy rugby pitch and a hut," said Colin Ewing, manager at the Sharjah Wanderers Sports Club.
"Part of their exercise routine would be to run up and down to the old fort, which is now University City. They would be training on the sand and running over the sand dunes, but the club has developed a lot since then," he said, saying the improvements were like building a jigsaw puzzle.
"We eventually built a rugby pitch and a clubhouse, and over the years added a swimming pool, squash court, tennis court and children's play area."
The popular rugby team, known as the Sharjah 10s (or the Sharjah Xs) regularly hold their tournaments in February, and most recently held a day-long tournament in April when 12 teams from the UAE participated.
The number of members has been on the rise, reaching almost 700, which is a dramatic change from the original membership of only 25.
"Over the past ten years our membership has become stronger because of less movement in the country. When the club first started, the people who joined were either teachers or employees of petroleum firms who were in the UAE only on short-term contracts.
"The majority left their wives back in England, and they were here on their own. But now all that has changed and we noticed that there are more family members at the club," said Ewing.
About 80 per cent of members are British expatriates, while the rest are from the US, Canada and Europe, and they are primarily residents of Sharjah. However, there are some weekend members who moved to Dubai but and still enjoy popping in at the club.
Although it has taken the club awhile to modernise itself, most of the facilities have been revamped over the past 12 months.
"We finally grassed the pitches three years ago. Prior to that the rugby players still played on the sand. We revamped the swimming pool and the changing room," he said.
Ewing explained how the red and black colours of the rugby team came about. They were borrowed from the colours of the Edinburgh Rugby Team.
The rugby team that the club is known for caters not only to men, but to families as well, and has a large mini-rugby team of 150 members who play tournaments around the country.
There are also rugby teams for children under 12, 10, 8 and 6, as well as girls' and ladies' rugby teams.
"Even though it is still a members-only club we do lend out the pitches. We cater to hockey, football and cricket, so if people want to play they can either come to our pitches or they go across the road."
We eventually built a rugby pitch and a club house, and over the years added a swimming pool, squash court ... "
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