Two years ago a scrawny looking athlete created history when he became the first Emirati player to don the Arabian Gulf rugby jersey at the Singapore Sevens.
He had shown glimpses of his potential in a game dominated by Europeans during a tri-series competition featuring teams from Hong Kong and Kazakhstan a few weeks earlier.
He was an instant hit in Singapore scoring a few tries and was earmarked to represent the Gulf in the Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Dubai last year.
But that dream was cruelly shattered two weeks before the start of the tournament when he picked up an injury requiring surgery on his right knee.
More than a year after recuperating from this career threatening injury, Mohammad Hassan Rahma is back more determined than ever before to take UAE rugby to a different level.
“It was great coming back. I scored like four tries in the tournament after coming back from injury. I still feel a little pain in my knee but I’m going back. I will be playing hopefully with (Dubai) Exiles again and hopefully for the UAE National team,” said 23-year-old Mohammad with the zeal of a newborn child.
“I had a surgery and was out for 18 months, not playing, not doing anything,” said Mohammad whose first tournament since his return was the Arabian Sevens Challenge Cup representing Dubai Rugby Club.
With the UAE Rugby Association poised to take over the reins of administering the game from the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union, Mohammad has set himself new goals and targets to achieve as a player especially with the advent of Sevens rugby in the 2016 Olympics.
“I’m focussing on playing internationals again. I’m planning to play for UAE national team in the Dubai Rugby Sevens," he said.
"My biggest goal -- and I really do want to achieve it -- is playing in the Olympics. I’m really keen to do that. I would really like to see UAE nationals actually playing in the Olympics or the Asian Games,” said Mohammad.
He admitted being apprehensive when he first went for training at Dubai Exiles with his friend Badr Fikree but overcame the initial shock of playing against the big boys.
“I didn’t actually know that rugby was going to be this big at the beginning. I actually was scared but once I started training rugby, and once I joined a team, I was put on the spot. When I got on the pitch I saw but then couldn’t back out. I saw these big guys in there and I was like ‘let’s do it. What’s the worse thing going to happen to me.’ So I tried it, I liked it and I didn’t care. After that I put in my head I played against the big guys and nothing happened to me,” recalled Mohammad.
It was curiosity of watching a new sport that drew him to the oval ball after he had quit football to concentrate on his studies.
“I actually started playing football in school. When I was 13-14 I was playing at Dubai Football Club until I started going to university," he recalled.
"However, there was really a big clash between going to school and playing football because training started at 4 (in the afternoon) and university classes finished like 5 or 6. So I couldn’t cope between the two and had to choose either football or university,” he said.
“Being a sportsman I just don’t like sitting around doing nothing," he said.
It was then that a friend, Saood Belshalat who was training at home, told him about a game called rugby. "This was in 2007 in Ramadan,” he recalled.
“John Mamea from New Zealand was the coach. He is the one who taught me to play rugby. After I started training I was still not interested in the game. I was just training because I like sport instead of just wasting my time,” he said.
But Mohammed got hooked onto the game after playing in the Dubai Sevens for UAE Falcons in the social competition.
“In that tournament I scored like eight tries. That’s how I liked rugby. I enjoyed it and after the tournament, I dedicated myself and kept going,” he said.
How did it feel taking on the big guys? “I felt a little bit sore the next day. It was really painful. But it was one of the things I enjoyed, getting tackled and tackling other guys,” he said.
Having been a goalkeeper, how did the transformation take place from goalkeeper to rugby try scorer?
“There was really a big difference but I still have the same techniques. Catching the ball, being more aggressive. In rugby you have to be more aggressive, like clearing the ball under pressure. Here I had to run more, more sprints, more techniques like to spin and stab the ball,” he said.
Being a natural athlete, he took to rugby like duck to water. “I liked trying new things. I never say no to any sport. I tried all sports, even cricket. I also played tennis, golf and at the moment I do surfing, which is my second thing now,” said Mohammad when asked why chose rugby.
After joining Dubai Exiles he began studying the fundamentals of the sport. “I started taking the IRB Level I coaching course, I learnt online modules and so I started learning myself and developing myself,” he said.
In 2008 he decided to form his own UAE Nationals team. “Because I had a really good number of people who actually wanted to play rugby, instead of putting all the people in one club (UAE Falcons), I started a new club Dubai Rugby Club. A second club for UAE nationals. I developed the club and started coaching. Once I started coaching and playing, I had more and more exposure about rugby,” said Mohammad who is planning to take the IRB Level II coaching course.
As he grew in confidence, he staked his claim to play in the Arabian Gulf team. Being selected to represent a national team at international level also changed his perspective of the game. “It was a really great experience. It gave me more confidence in myself. It made me think of myself twice. Once I made my first appearance at international level, I started practicing more, to look at my diet, started going to the gym. It changed my whole lifestyle. I started putting some more weight. I used to be 65kg went up to 80 just to prepare myself for the World Cup. I became fitter,” he said.
He considers the first try he scored at the Singapore Sevens against a team from Australia as the most memorable in his life. “It was my first international try. I don’t think I will ever forget it in my life. I was so excited, so hyper, more happy than all I have scored (tries) in my life,” he said.
Unfortunately his World Cup participation was hit by an injury just two weeks before the tournament. But it has only made him stronger and wiser.
He is philosophical about the physical nature of rugby. “Any sport is physical. You can get injured. In football you see people getting injured because there are illegal tackles. It's the same with rugby. The only difference is you have more body contact. If it is legal you only feel sore for three hours and that’s it,” he said.
A lean and mean winger, Mohammad believes he is a better Sevens player but likes playing the 15-a-side game more. “It is more technical, more skills needed. You spend longer time in the pitch and if you do a mistake you can come back. In Sevens you are done,” he said.
Is rugby suited for Arab culture? “Here when you grow up they put your head in playing only football. But rugby does have advantages for our culture here. That’s what we need in our country. The most important part in rugby is the gathering. Meeting new people and greeting new people.
It’s the best feature in rugby unlike any other sport,” he opined.
Asked whether the administrative changes will impact the Dubai Sevens, he replied in the negative. “I don’t think it will affect a lot. Mostly the event is held by Emirates airlines. Doesn’t matter who is handling it, AGRFU or UAE federation, I’m sure they will do a great job. I don’t think it's going to be noticeable because most people don’t know about changes except players and those involved in the game,” he said.
But he wants more Emiratis playing at international level. “It was really a shame to see only myself playing in the national team. I would like to see someone else singing the national anthem other than me in the games. I would really like that to happen one day and I’m sure it’s going to happen,” said Mohammad.
“I hope they think about having mandatory a few players or try to push some players in. I know there is a big gap level between UAE nationals and expats. But if I can get selected, I don’t see why others cannot get selected. I’m not like a magician or super hero. I’m a normal player,” said Mohammad who is a National Development Programme Specialist at Emirates Airlines.
He also gave due credit for the English expatriates particularly Dubai Exiles coach Wayne Marsters and Gulf Sevens coach Mike Lunjevich for their rugby guidance although a lot of it was his own initiative. “I got developed from these English people. Everyone in Exiles helped me. That’s why I liked training in the Exiles. All the players helped by guiding me. That’s how I developed. Sevens coach Michael was also supportive, taking me aside on the pitch and telling me you did this wrong, giving me schedules to work on. But then it is my initiative. From my side I showed interest to play the sport. That’s what all UAE nationals are lacking at the moment,” he said.
He wants to see more Emiratis in the national rugby team in future. “Really one day in the national team I want to see more than three or four people at the start and eventually taking over. Being like all other sports and like all other nationalities. Like Japan they used to have lot of Kiwis (New Zealand) guys, now they have only one or two. They have all Japanese people,” he pointed out.
Having a UAE squad full of Emiratis is a hard task to achieve but not impossible, he believes. “That’s what I’m looking for to happen in UAE one day,” he said.
Mohammad wants to continue playing as long as he is fit and is not thinking of coaching or getting into administration now. “I coached the UAE Nationals team when they started federation for two years when they started and also the Dubai Rugby Club. I used to be general secretary (of the UAE association) but I resigned because I want to play rugby. I’m still young, only 23, and have a huge career in front of me. I’m not the guy who could sit in office and play chess with other people. I’m here to play rugby. I will play until my legs carry me,” said Mohammad who can rightly claim to be a pioneer of UAE rugby.