Tough baptism awaits new-look UAE rugby team

A new-look UAE Rugby squad will face a baptism of fire in their opening match of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations (A5N) Top 5 clash against Hong Kong on Friday at The Sevens with kick-off scheduled at 8pm.

The action starts from 3pm with the first of three Sevens developmental games between UAE Shaheen and Afghanistan. The A5N Division 4 finals will also be played at 5pm and 7pm.

UAE's match against Asia's number two side, will be the first encounter since former Wallaby lock Duncan Hall took over as UAE Rugby’s Performance Manager.

Hall’s preparations for his side have been intense, which included two warm-up games against 37th IRB ranked Tunisia and a determined Gulf Barbarian side.

“It was important to put the players into real life competitive situations in the lead up to the Hong Kong match” said Hall, who remains staunchly confident this squad will put in a strong and challenging performance in Friday’s opener.

“We are a different side now to what we were when we faced Tunisia (where 10 new caps were earned) and while we expect tough competition we intend to make them work for it and take the game to them.”

With Jonathan Greenwood and Murray Strang unavailable for the opening game Charles Lilley and Andy Russell will take on the (respective) roles and relish the opportunity to show their coach, and their country, that they have the determination and necessary skill.

Another highly awaited player to join the squad is Peter Sampson, who after showing strong form in the recent warm-up game against the Gulf Barbarians will start on the bench.

Shaheen Sevens star Mohammed Al Sulaiman is the only Emirati in the squad having caught the eye of Hall with impressive performances in the Bangkok Sevens and the warm-up games.

The 22-man UAE squad is led by Abu Dhabi Harlequins number 8 Alistair Thompson.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong will be eager to avoid a repeat of the surprise defeat on its last away trip to UAE in the A5N, where they lost 16-9 in Bahrain in 2010. 

A 23-man travelling squad has been selected with one additional player brought along as injury cover for the opening match while the team waits on the fitness status of prop Steve Nolan. 

The Hong Kong Football Club front row trio of Steve Nolan, Tom Bolland and Ian Ridgway are all available to play for the first time since the Emirates Airlines Cup of Nations in Dubai and all are expected to earn their first HSBC A5N caps in the coming weeks. 

Senior Coach Leigh Jones has selected six HKFC forwards in the travel squad for the opening encounter in Dubai.  The squad is led by Pale Tauti from DeA RFC at No. 8 who marks his first HSBC A5N campaign as captain.

Included in the squad are some of Hong Kong’s veteran A5N campaigners including winger Rowan Varty and prop Alex Ng Wai Shing, who each has 11 HSBC A5N caps, as well as Keith Robertson at fly-half who has nine to his credit.

Hong Kong beat UAE twice last year at the Hong Kong Football Club in the HSBC A5N and again away in the Cup of Nations last December, but Senior Coach Leigh Jones is mindful of the dangers of complacency.

“We are very respectful and very mindful of the danger of being complacent in Dubai. It is something we have talked a lot about this week. We know that the UAE have something like 10 newly qualified players and that they recently ran Tunisia close in Tunis. So really we are facing a new opponent and a very difficult one on a Friday night, which is a bit unusual for us in terms of test match timings. But as a team we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Despite having their preparation hampered somewhat by an extended sevens campaign this year with Hong Kong taking part in the Tokyo Sevens at end March, Jones is pleased with how the team has come together.

“We have had a good preparation and selection for the opening trip away has been very difficult from a performance perspective. We are leaving a lot of good players back in Hong Kong which is a testament to the competition for positions in the squad, but we are confident that the team we have selected is ready for the challenge.”

Last year, Hong Kong enjoyed its most successful HSBC A5N campaign ever, finishing as runners-up to Japan for the first time since the inception of the tournament in 2008.

Squads

UAE: Graham Murphy (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Charles Lilley (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Dan Boatwright (Dubai Hurricanes), Greg Thompson (Dubai Hurricanes), Simon Osborne (Dubai Hurricanes), Brett Williams (Dubai Exiles), Sam Cook (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Alistair Thompson (captain, Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Patrick Hegarty (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Andy Russell (Jebel Ali Dragons), Steve Smith (Dubai Hurricanes), Jonathon O’Connor (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Imad Reyal (Dubai Exiles), Sean Hurley (Jebel Ali Dragons), Tim Fletcher (vice-captain, Jebel Ali Dragons), Peter Sampson (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Christopher Jones-Griffiths (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Tristan Barnett (Dubai Hurricanes), David Matasio (Dubai Wasps), John Fawls (Dubai Exiles), Joel Pikari (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Mohammed Al Sulaiman (Dubai Wasps).

Hong Kong: Steve Nolan (HK Football Club), Peter McKee (HKFC), Alex Harris (Kowloon), Keith Robertson (DeA), Ian Ridgway (HKFC), Lee Jones (Valley), Dan Watson (HKFC), Ally Maclay (Valley), Charles French (HKFC), Yiu Kam Shing, (Salom Valley), Mark Wright (Toyota Shokki Shuttles), Rowan Varty (DeA), Nick Hewson (Valley), Ross Armour (Valley), Pale Tauti (Captain, DeA), Tim Alexander (Valley), Tom Bolland (HKFC), Jamie Hood (HKFC), Renaud Chavanis (HKCC), Rory Hussey (HKFC), Alex Ng Wai Shing (Pontypool RFC), Jack Bennett (Valley)  

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