Critics are jealous, says Al Ain Amblers chairman Andre Fourie
Al Ain Amblers Rugby Club chairman Andre Fourie says he cannot understand the jealousy surrounding the club’s success this season.
Al Ain 1sts are storming towards the Sport360° UAE Conference title with nine wins from nine games. They lead second placed Heartbeat Tigers by five points and have scored 510 points so far, while their defensive record – 45 points conceded – is also the best in the division by some distance.
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It seems the old adage of success breeding jealousy rings true, however, with the club’s decision to field two teams in the conference now coming in for criticism from some circles.
Club chairman Fourie says he is at a loss to explain the criticism.
He said: “The reason for the second team is that we have lots of players, around 55, coming to training.
“We made a request to the UAE Rugby Federation to enter two teams this season and the majority of the chairmen at other clubs backed our application at the league’s AGM.
“I’m at a bit of a loss to explain the criticism. It’s unfounded and perhaps it’s a bit of jealousy. Lots of people are saying things and I don’t know why, it’s probably because we’re doing so well.”
Despite their success so far this season, Fourie says not all the players at the club are yet at the calibre to play at the more elite Premiership level.
“I’m 43, yet I’m still playing for the first team because of a lack of hookers and props,” he said.
“The team plays with five veterans (over 35s) but that will be difficult to do in the Premiership where the lads are a lot younger and fitter.
“I don’t understand where the jealousy comes from, it’s second tier Middle East rugby at the end of the day.
“Irrespective of this we will be playing in the Premiership next year.
“We want to enter it and we hope we will be competitive if we can keep our players, although we feel our critics will be hoping for our demise.”
He also says critics are missing the point of what the club is trying to achieve.
“We have 2,200 members, 40 per cent of which are Emirati. There are also lots of Emiratis coming through the club ranks, which was the whole reason we started a second team.
“Against Sharjah Wanderers we had four players playing for the seconds and first team player Harab Alazry is a member of the Emirati national team. The club is moving in the right direction and, for some reason, people don’t like that.”
A lot of Al Ain’s players are from the Pacific islands and employed by Al Ain Equestrian, Golf & Shooting Club, or work at the club’s gym and pool.
Work commitments and difficulties with visas for the cross-Gulf competitions are also reasons why Fourie says the team did not make the step up to the Premiership this season.