Dubai: The UAE Rugby Association is in limbo after their inaugural show at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens over the weekend.
From now on, they will have to qualify to their own event on merit without relying on entry as hosts as they did in this year's tournament. But to be able to do that, they will need continuous exposure to world class Sevens opposition.
After losing their group matches against Samoa (55-12), Fiji (43-0) and Argentina (73-7), the UAE lost their Bowl quarter- final with Scotland (40-5) and the Shield semi (35-5) against Kenya.
Based on that performance in their first year of formation since the break-up of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU), UAE coach Wayne Marsters said: "It could be another couple of seasons before you see us back at the Dubai Sevens. I don't know quite how the qualifying will work, but we need exposure to better teams to improve and you don't get many opportunities to do that unless you play on the Sevens World Series."
Lot of promise
Marsters added: "We showed a lot of promise at our first tournament, but didn't manage to kick on from the opening game. Some areas we are happy with, but in others we felt we could have done a lot better."
"As per performance targets we never gave up, attacked to the end and scored in every game bar Fiji. Pride in our defensive line eventually came against Kenya so we ticked a number of boxes, but we would have probably liked to have ticked a few more. Overall it was disappointing."
Murray Strang, who scored a try against his native Scotland on his birthday, said: "It's been quite well documented that from now on we'll have to qualify for our right to play at the Dubai Sevens.
"So these experiences are a commodity. We play in a competitive domestic league where most guys would give their right arm for this experience [with the national team] so the magnitude of this weekend hasn't passed us by lightly."
Mohammad Rahma and Cyrus Homayoun, the only Emiratis in the 12-man UAE squad, were thankful for their run in national team colours on the UAE's 40th National Day.
But the real concern is when they or others like them will get another such experience at this level, especially with grooming an all- Emirati Sevens squad in time for the 2014 Asian Games being the UAE RA's ultimate goal.
Pressure
Rahma said: "I've just started playing within the last five years so even from the subs bench and in training I'm learning so much from these guys. I felt a lot of pressure because the Emiratis will look toward me for an example. But I hope I proved that this game is for us all."
Homayoun added: "I was happy to feature as a sub. You have five subs and you need to use them wisely. It's a tough game and everyone makes an impact and steps it up for the guys they replace."
