Jebel Ali Dragons have a special affinity with the Dubai Rugby Sevens and the club is determined it is their time to be brides rather than bridesmaids after three years of misery.
The club won five straight Gulf Men’s League titles from 2008-13 (08 and 09 as Dubai Dragons before Jebel Ali was incorporated into the name in 2010).
But Dragons have been left out in the cold as fierce rivals Abu Dhabi Harlequins caught fire in recent editions, winning three successive trophies of their own.
They will have felt particularly burned by last year’s 26-14 defeat in the final that earned Quins their hat-trick triumph.
But Dragons are stirring under director of rugby Henry Paul and have enjoyed a great start to the 15s season. And in a year in which they are celebrating their 25th anniversary, chairman Stuart Quinn believes it is time the beast awoke from its sevens slumber.
“The Sevens is very important to the Dragons and has been for a very long time,” said Quinn.
“We’ve been very successful in it but in the past years we have tended to be the bridesmaids and not the brides, so we want to change that this year.
“Not only for the club, but the sponsors, players and all the people that have put an effort into this year, which is a big year with the anniversary.
“Everyone is very excited for the Sevens, I think there is a lot of pressure on us from ourselves having come so close last year. We really want to go one further this year.
“All the boys are excited. It’s the biggest weekend of the year when it comes to rugby in Dubai and the UAE, and we just want to go out there and win. We understand there’s a lot of internal pressure on us.”
Dragons warmed up for this year’s rugby festival – the first leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – with wins for their senior and vets sides at the Eden Park Sevens last weekend.
The traditional curtain raiser for the Dubai Sevens was short on entries this year, but Quinn still saw it as a valuable opportunity to hone their match sharpness ahead of the tournament, which kicks off on November 30.
“We’re really proud of the club for fielding three teams in the tournament,” said Quinn.
“Our Vets were keen to retain the cup they won last year and our ones will be happy to get winning feeling. It was great to have a hit out against some opposition, get any final technical points run through.
“It was a run-out against opposition we were unfamiliar with. Getting rid of the technical rusty bits and starting to work together.
“Sevens is that game that if you switch off for two seconds you can lose to a team on paper that you should be beating, so we’re very aware of that. We want to be the best prepared team.”
