Roelof Kotze believes blending Emiratis and expatriates at the Hong Kong Asian Under-20’s Sevens was an experiment that was invaluable to both sets of players.
The UAE national rugby team head coach also insists his decision to pick expats alongside UAE passport holders will be good for the development of Emiratis and the future of rugby in the country.
Sevens rugby will become an Olympic sport for the very first time at the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
While World Rugby, the game’s governing body, allows expats to play internationally for different countries in the 15-a-side format, the International Olympic Committee insists that to play rugby internationally in the sevens arena, you must be a passport holder.
The UAE’s road to Rio begins in Chennai next March with a pre- Olympic qualifier.
And while Kotze is aware he will only be able to pick Emiratis for any Olympic-sanctioned event, he stands by his decision to take a mix of Emiratis and expats to the second leg of the ARFU tournament in Hong Kong last weekend.
“We were very competitive,” said the South African.
“We lost three games by two points and we showed we can compete at that level, we belong there. “We had a bad start against Malaysia but after that we competed with the top Asian sides very well. I think that’s a good sign for the future.”
Promising Emirati youngsters Yousif Lashkari, Saeed Al Kateeri and skipper Adel Al Hendi were joined in the squad by Al Hendi’s Abu Dhabi Harlequins teammate Iziq Foa’i and Dubai Exiles trio Charlie Sargent, Janneman Venter and Jason Murphy.
“The expat boys came into the mix, it was valuable for both sets of players,” Kotze added.
“The Emirati boys learnt a lot and the expat boys learnt that the Emirati boys are far from useless, it was a mutually beneficial exercise.
“There’s not enough quality Emirati players and there were not enough of them available either.
“Half the team that played in the first leg in August were on military service and I had to make a call.”
The IOC rules mean all players representing senior teams must hold valid passports, but expats are allowed to play in youth grade teams.
Kotze said: “It’s the first time I’ve combined the two groups and the first time I’ve picked a UAE sevens team without just Emiratis. I just wanted us to be as competitive as possible.”
Kotze is not sure if he will conduct the experiment again, but he knows he will not be able to pick expats for the next fixture in the UAE sevens calendar, which is the Olympic pre-qualifier in a few months’ time in India.
“I don’t know what we’ll do in the future, that will be a decision for the board at a later stage, but this tournament was definitely beneficial for the Emirati players.
“Expats can be involved in IRB or non-Olympic-sanctioned events so I definitely won’t be able to pick them next March, but it was still a valuable exercise.
“The Emirati players definitely know now they have to be a little bit better, stronger, quicker. It will stand them in good stead for the next tournament. It’s a good sign for the future.”
Clear signs of improvement for the UAE, although it remains to be seen how they fare in Chennai without their band of expats.
