Jebel Ali star Blamire hoping to make final cut to represent UAE

Matt Jones - Editor 23:56 19/04/2016
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  • Blamire on fire: The Dragons flanker (r) has been red-hot for Jebel Ali.

    By October he had reached the three-year residency period required to represent the UAE, and a superb nine-try season for Jebel Ali Dragons then saw the flanker called into Apollo Perelini’s training squad for the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) Test series in Uzbekistan next month. Mission accomplished.

    It hasn’t been a perfect season at club level for the 26-year-old Scotsman, with Dragons finishing fifth and seventh in the UAE Premiership and West Asia Championship respectively.

    Blamire, however, is determined to end it on a high with a first senior international cap.

    “Playing for the UAE was always on the radar because I was coming up to that three-year mark,” said the Surrey-born Glaswegian, who played international rugby league at Under-18 level for Scotland.

    “I was really chuffed with that. Some of my best pals in the side like Ovey (Ian Overton) and Nialler (Niall Statham) played last year and said it was a great experience. The UAE’s like our home now so to represent the country would be great.

    “Nialler, being the sevens captain, was always on at us to find out if we’re available. I think he dropped my name in and I then got added to the initial invite list. With the Dragons boys having gone on the tour last year and a lot with the sevens too, I was always keen to get involved. I’ve been working towards it.”

    Representing the UAE in recent years has lost some of its lustre but after a positive showing in Division II of the ARC in Malaysia a year ago – the UAE narrowly lost out on promotion to the host nation – Blamire insists pride has been restored.

    “Definitely, that’s a point that’s been made,” he said.

    “This will be the first time it’s been all Premiership players selected and you can tell the standard’s really high.

    “Some of the big boys have got some sick skills, so the standard and calibre of player overall is really high, which is good, because you can already feel people wanting to prove in the early sessions what they can do.

    “That’s exactly what you want, to bring the best out of all the players there. The sessions have been really good. The style of play we’re working towards is something I enjoy. Linking the forwards and the backs and I think Apollo really knows his stuff.

    “He’s got the respect of all the players and we’re all learning from him so I’ve been really enjoying it.”

    Former dual code Samoa star Perelini is currently putting his charges through their paces ahead of naming a 30-35 man training squad at the end of the month.

    They will play a friendly against a UAE Premiership select Barbarians team on April 28, after which Perelini will trim his squad down to a 25-man roster that will travel to Tashkent. In a bid to make himself stand out, Blamire, who can also play hooker, has been upping his front-row training in a desperate bid to earn a spot on the plane.

    “For me, if you’ve been picked for the training squad, the aim is to make the final cut, so I’ll be doing the right things and everything I can to make sure I’m selected,” he added.

    “Now I’m there I’m determined to grab the opportunity with both hands. I want to be making the maximum effort. It looks like I’ll be playing flanker and hooker. I’ve been doing a bit of extra work on my lineout throwing and making sure I’ll be first choice.”

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