UAE performance manager Roelof Kotze was buoyed by the Shaheen’s performance at the Amsterdam Sevens and believes it proves the squad has fully embraced his methods.
The development squad are in Europe preparing for the Asian sevens circuit later this year, and an appearance at the Asian Games in Korea in September.
It is the first time Kotze has been able to have the Shaheen together for an extended period of time since he arrived at the UAE Rugby Federation in February.
Kotze believes the team are beginning to buy into his philosophy and are growing in confidence.
“I think establishing a team culture and maybe a slightly different culture to what had been before has been part of the whole process,” he said.
“The team will understand the level I expect them to perform and train at, and the system’s a little bit better so at least when we go into the Asian circuit it’s not going to be all new.
“As a result, our guys will be a far better unit when we get there.”
On the pitch, the Emirati side managed to spring a surprise or two, beating Swiss outfit Wurenlos 26-10 on day one and overcoming the UK’s Digby Dragons in the elimination round the following day.
While the side did experience a heavy loss at the hands of the eventual winners, Samurai International, Kotze saw a dramatic change in the mindset of his players who he feels are now starting to believe they can impact any tournament they play in.
Kotze continued: “It’s not often that we manage to beat teams in the pool stages, so [beating Wurenlos] was a good win for us as a team and ended our day on a high.
“What they’ve found is a bit of self belief and what I wanted them to understand is that we can actually win games and perform well and that we’re not there to make up numbers.
“On a good day, if everything goes well, we could end up high in the standings and I think that is what they are starting to believe now as they see that things we have been working on, when applied properly, are working effectively.”
Kotze and his charges now head to Milan tomorrow for the Milano Sevens.
Their appearance in Milan also gives Kotze a chance to build the depth of his squad, which could prove beneficial to the XVs side too, who were relegated to Division II of the Asian 5 Nations last month.
“I think it’s the first time on Saturday night that the guys were actually thinking they can win something,” added Kotze.
