He’s battled through two years of injury hell, but Chris Marshall is now back playing rugby and he plans to pick right back up from where he started two years ago – and that’s representing the UAE.
The 27-year-old winger/centre has already earned sevens caps for his adopted country and was targeting a call-up to the UAE 15s squad when disaster struck in September 2015.
In the process of scoring a try for Abu Dhabi Harlequins in a see-saw battle with fierce rivals Dubai Exiles, Marshall fell awkwardly and dislocated his shoulder.
It was right at the very beginning of season. Little did he know that would be the start of a nightmare two years healing on the sidelines as comeback after comeback stalled – dashing his dreams of being selected for the 2016 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) series.
In the midst of the last 24 months, both Quins and his adopted homeland have been moving on without him, and at a breakneck pace too.
Quins won the quintuple last term while the UAE have moved up to Division I of the ARC – Asia Rugby’s second tier.
Marshall returned at the start of the season, and he’s determined to make up for lost time.
“I want to be part of that 15s squad, 100 per cent,” said the Newcastle native, who works for rugby equipment manufacturers Kukri, and has been in the Emirates for five years.
“I’ve been around the sevens and might have been involved (in 15s) had I not got injured right at the start of the 2015 season. That’s my goal now to try and get back involved.
“A lot of the boys now see the UAE as a genuine goal, they want to be involved. Ben (Bolger) and Luke (Stevenson) really enjoyed it this year and making close bonds with the Dragons and Hurricanes and other boys, and I was really jealous I missed out on that.
“I loved it when I was involved, so it’s another thing I’m aiming for.”
When Marshall first arrived in the desert, playing for the national team wasn’t as sought after or as competitive as it has become under performance manager Apollo Perelini.
For club and country: Marshall in action for UAE against Chinese Taipei.
So Marshall is under no illusion he has his work cut out, especially having been out of the picture for so long. He added: “There’s some very good players from other clubs there now. No-one’s guaranteed a place. There’s genuine depth, no-one can say ‘oh, I might play for the UAE this year’. You have to really fight for it and show form in the league.”
Although he’s keen to put himself in the picture for the UAE by the time the 2018 ARC rolls around next May, Marshall is happy first and foremost to be back to offer some stability to his club – who lost a lot of stars over the summer.
Star centres Brian Geraghty and Willie Umu left, which is where Marshall has found himself filling a void as he eases back into the fold this season.
And being one of the more senior and long-serving Quins players in a new-look team for 2017/18, Marshall was eager to step up to the plate.
“I was very conscious we lost two or three really big players from last year, Willie and Brian,” added Marshall.
“I thought ‘I’ve got to step up’ as a Quins veteran, and seeing what those guys brought, that was where I set my goals. To do the things they did. Fill their shoes. They set the standard so I thought I’m going to have to pull my socks up and get stuck in.”
Quins have started the defence of their West Asia Premiership title strongly, sitting in third with an unbeaten record, just a point off joint leaders Bahrain and Jebel Ali Dragons.
They suffered a blow as they lost to Dubai Exiles in the semi-finals at this month’s Dubai Sevens, who went on to win and deny Quins a fourth straight Gulf Men’s League crown.
But Marshall, who’s family now live in the Lake District, is hoping to both he can the club can still make a big splash when the Premiership returns in the new year.
“I’m loving every minute. My rugby at the moment, I’m enjoying it more than I ever have,” said Marshall, who revealed he never toyed with the idea of quitting the game.
“You appreciate that any game could be your last, you don’t know what’s coming next. I’m playing with a smile on my face and trying to really enjoy it.
“I had a set-back three or four times trying to come back. The surgery and rehab is six months, I got that done. Then it was just getting back to playing. It takes a long time getting your confidence back and the fitness up. I wanted to hit the ground running this year.
“Being away from it makes you miss it so much. All I wanted to do was get back to it. Because when you’re not in it (the team) it’s a different place. That social group and being with the boys, there’s nothing like it.
“But even being amongst it, it’s not the same as playing. Being part of the build-up, training, getting out on the field, you can’t replace it, so there was never a moment in my head I didn’t think about not coming back.”
He also praised the impact former team-mate and skipper Bolger has had on the team since announcing in October he was retiring on health grounds following numerous concussions.
The former Quins and UAE skipper is still involved at Quins as an assistant to head coach Mike McFarlane. And just like during his playing days, Marshall says Bolger remains the heartbeat of Quins.
“He’s been massive. He creates the ethos in the team,” Marshall said of Bolger.
“He was the central man last year when we won everything and he’s brought that confidence and belief in this year, in us, as players, and the boys really feed off it.
“He’s the man in the huddle getting us up for it before the game and everyone feeds off his energy. There’s a confidence being an Abu Dhabi Harlequin. We always knew he was a big part of it and he’s still a huge part of this team.”
