Kotze believes in getting UAE rugby programme up and running early

[email protected] 08:40 10/11/2014
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  • Aiming for a head start: Roelof Kotze.

    The UAE national side gathered for training yesterday, and head coach Roelof Kotze says he is already looking ahead to the future.

    The season for the 15-a-side team might not start until May, but Kotze is determined to get his programme “up and running” in a bid to boost the fortunes of the national team.

    Kotze said monthly squad train­ing sessions will now be held, with the first tournament taking place in Malaysia next month.

    The Crescent Cup, for Islamic nations, will be played between December 14-28.

    The sevens circuit is beginning to get busy now ahead of the Dubai Sevens early next month and due to the fact the Sport360° UAE Pre­miership has finished.

    The UAE Conference is still in full swing but 15-a-side rugby takes a back seat until the Gulf Top Six and Gulf Conference get under way in the New Year.

    “We’ve got the Crescent Cup coming up and from now on we’ll be having monthly squad sessions, after the first of which we’ll be start­ing to identify and work on team selection.

    “After the Gulf Top Six we’ll be taking over players’ time in preparation for the Asian Champi­onships [in May].”

    When the Asian Championships begin, the UAE will have to contend with life in Division II after they lost Division I status when they were beaten in a knock-out tie by Singa­pore.

    “I want to get more Emirati guys exposed to 15-a-side rugby and to see more guys like Adel Al Hendi playing for club sides, and not just in the Shaheen system.”

    The Shaheen system is a player pathway programme which aims to help transition talented school players into making the next step – and more Emiratis are joining in.

    “The Shaheen system is an ongo­ing programme but we’ve started to streamline it to get the best out of it,” added Kotze.

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