The October half term saw the return of the popular U13 Rugby Tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by Mrs Long, Teacher of PE. Here, she reports back:
The 2023 U13 Rugby Tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi was a huge success. We arrived in Dubai late on the Sunday after a long day of travelling and the boys were met by their host families from the Dubai Hurricanes. On Monday morning, we travelled by coach to Abu Dhabi where we visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and saw the world’s largest chandelier in the 50,000 capacity, white marble mosque.
We continued on to the National Aquarium, which houses over 45,000 animals, and unfortunately for Mr Sinclair, one exotic bird decided to poo on him. Despite it being an exotic bird, he didn’t think this was ‘good luck’! We also paid a quick visit to the Yas Marina Formula 1 track which most of the boys recognised from the Xbox game F1 ’23. That evening, with the temperature still in the high 30s, we did a training session in the setting sun at Zayed Sport City before the boys met their host families from the Abu Dhabi Harlequins.
On Tuesday, we spent the day at Ferrari World, home to the world’s fastest roller coaster, the Formula Rossa, that reaches speeds of 240km/h. The boys spent the day going on all the rollercoasters, which wasn’t necessarily the best preparation for playing a match that night! With a few queasy boys, we took to the field that evening for our first match against Abu Dhabi Harlequins and the boys played brilliantly, captained by Harry Hayler, finishing eventual winners by 64-7.
On Wednesday we travelled back to Dubai, arriving at the Dubai Mall where we had lunch, watched the very impressive fountain show and went up to the 125th floor of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Despite Mr King’s fear of heights, he even managed to join the boys out on the viewing platform where we all enjoyed unrivalled views over the city. That evening, we travelled out into the desert to the Sevens Ground and the boys were lucky enough to play on Pitch 1, in the 30,000 seater stadium, home to the World Series Sevens tournament. The match against Dubai Hurricanes was a physical one, with the boys having to work much harder at the rucks and on a huge pitch. Despite the heat and having spent the day walking miles, the boys scored some brilliant tries, defended heroically – and at times, right on their try line, to run out 50-5 winners.
On Thursday we spent the day at the Aquaventure Waterpark at the Atlantis hotel on the far end of the Palm Jumeirah and the boys enjoyed hearing all about the design and construction of this incredible man-made island that can be seen from space. They also learned about how Dubai has been transformed from its original Bedouin roots to the sprawling metropolis that it now is.
On Friday, we left early to visit the Old Dubai, where we boarded Abra boats to cross the creek. We visited the spice souks and gold souks and the boys practiced bartering whilst buying traditional Arabic dress and souvenirs for family. After this, we went to the Wild Wadi waterpark to cool off as the intense midday temperatures easily topped 40degrees. After an afternoon spent cooling off, we were then picked up by jeeps that took us out into the desert for a 4×4 safari across the dunes and an evening enjoying traditional entertainment at a Bedouin camp. The boys ate traditional Arabic food and enjoyed a belly-dancing show, Turkish dance and finally a fire show. They had the opportunity to ride camels and some even tried camel milk ice cream.
On Saturday we met at the Sevens Stadium for our final match of the tour, which took place at a packed stadium ground. The Saxo Women’s 7s was taking place alongside a huge netball tournament and it was fantastic to see the amazing sport that takes place in the UAE. The boys had been getting better and better as the matches went on and, in front of a large crowd, played their best rugby of the tour – against a strengthened and much larger Canes side. Our students had the opportunity to try new positions and were now fully settled into playing 15-a-side rugby, having never played this version of the game before the tour. They once again finished comfortable winners. The boys voted Jacob Dako ‘Players Player’ as he was our top try scorer of the tour and brought great energy, electric feet and strong defence to every game.
The boys then spent the rest of the day with their host families and were treated to some brilliant activities. Some boys went to Top Golf, some to Motion Gate studios and the majority were taken paintballing in the desert. It was the perfect way to spend their final day and cement what will certainly be some lifelong friendships.
On Sunday we travelled back to the UK and were met, most notably, with a 30degree temperature difference! Christian Mnkandla was voted Top Tourist for his consistent curiosity, brilliant self-organisation and making the most of every opportunity we experienced.
Mrs Long, Mr King and Mr Sinclair thoroughly enjoyed spending time with a fantastic group, and we are certain that the boys have developed their rugby, become close as a team and made lifelong memories with their friends.
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Student reflections
Harry Hayler said, “We were very lucky to be given the opportunity to go the UAE and we were all very excited. My friend and I were staying with a family from the Dubai hurricanes rugby team who were very friendly and welcoming.
“We did so much, and everyone had so much fun, that it is very hard to choose my favourite day as I enjoyed all of them very much. However, I really liked the safari adventure in the desert, where we rode 4x4s over sand dunes, rode on camels, had food and watched dancing. I am very thankful to Mrs Long for arranging such a memorable trip and to Mr Sinclair and Mr King for looking after us.”
Christian Mnkandla said, “There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the UAE trip. This trip had it all, with a well selected roster of activities. There was never a dull moment: we went from the rollercoaster thrills at Ferrari, playing a rugby match on the famous World Sevens rugby pitch to witnessing the city of Dubai from 828 meters in the air at the top of the Burj Khalifa. With all these experiences and much more, I have learnt that you only live once and sometimes you have to come out of your comfort zone to have fun.”
Oscar Sabourin said, “From the moment we congregated at Gatwick airport, very early on Sunday morning, I knew that this was going to be a great trip. Everyone looked so smart in their tour tops and we couldn’t wait to get going!
“We had so many amazing experiences: from the desert safari to two water parks, to visiting the souk, the mosque and Burj Khalifa, there almost wasn’t enough time to fit in any rugby! But when we did play, it was a real privilege to play on the National Sevens ground in Dubai and the Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and we comfortably won all our matches. Instead of staying in a hotel, we stayed with host families who looked after us really well, washed our kit, and even took us paintballing on the last day.
“I will never forget our Dubai rugby tour as it was just an incredible trip and big thanks to Mrs Long, Mr King and Mr Sinclair for taking us.”
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