Young rugby players across the UAE realised the dream of a lifetime when two all-time greats of the international game joined them for a coaching clinic at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence.
All Blacks wizard fly-half Dan Carter and recently retired Springbok prop Os du Randt, who both starred at the 2007 IRB Rugby World Cup in France just two months ago, spent an intense yet fun afternoon passing on their skills to an ever-alert audience.
After all, the youngsters, around 150 of them, knew better than to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime.
"It's been just awesome for me. I hope more and more of the team come down to coach us and help us get better at rugby," said 12-year-old Gordan Whitehead, struggling to find his tongue amid the excitement.
Du Randt, who belongs to a small distinguished group to have lifted the Webb Ellis trophy twice after the South Africans beat England in October's final, blended in perfectly with the juniors despite his gigantic build.
"We have a responsibility to give back to both South Africa and the world community so it's a great honour for us. And they are all really keen to learn," said du Randt.
The smile on Carter's face more than suggested the quarter-final loss to France was a distant memory. "We do a lot of this back in New Zealand, never done it offshore. But you see a lot of enthusiasm and you get the satisfaction in teaching a few things. I really enjoy stuff like this," said the 25-year-old.
Sue Smaill was a happy bystander as her son Jeremy went about putting some du Randt tips into practice. "He was very excited. Being a New Zealander, rugby and sport is very important to us and to have this kind of experience from two international players is invaluable," she said.
Jean-Pierre Erasmus was hoping to "learn more about kicking" from Carter but settled for what he got. "I learnt some smooth little tricks from Os which can really help, but both of them were really nice," said the lad from English College Primary School.
