The Movers and Shakers

Although he is referred to as ‘Gono’ – which translates into storm and may often seem the reason for his sobriquet,the origins stem from his childhood days when Mohanned was a bit of a brat.

“When he was small,he would just take anything in front of him whether it belonged to him or not and begin to destroy it,like a tsunami. Now he does the same thing but in a more effective way,” said Mohamed – the eldest of the three.

The trio have always been hot-tempered and ready for a fight. When on holiday in Australia,they took on a huge mob of around 40,when one of the miscreants abused their youngest brother. “We injured ourselves badly,broke a few bones,but were lucky to escape with our lives,” said Mohamed. Their father then decided to channelise their aggression in a positive way and immersed them into the world of rugby. They started off with tag rugby and when they were itching for some contact they shifted their focus to rugby sevens. They enrolled themselves into the Dubai Wasps team and joined 45 other Emiratis on the field.

When they made it to the national team for the Asian Rugby sevens series in Goa,they realised their father’s dream of representing the nation. Their family,however,extended to all 12 members of the team as UAE Shaheen became the first ever all-Emirati rugby squad to play an international tournament.

While it’s nothing out of the ordinary to see a UAE rugby team full of Scots,Irish,English and even Sri Lankan origin,it was the Emiratis representing a second string side known as the Falcons (Shaheen) that caught the public eye. Even though the inexperienced side failed to win a match,they obtained their much-needed experience of full fledged contact rugby at the top level and were satisfied with that.

This new initiative is a part of the twin-track approach that the newly-formed UAE Rugby Association (UAERA) has adopted,where the federation is looking to develop the talent among the local players with the ultimate objective to induct an Emirati into the main squad.

“With the rugby sevensbeing included in the 2016 Olympics,a lot of interest has been generated amongst the locals. This is why we decided to start a separate development camp and league for the Emiratis to make sure they have opportunities. We also plan to conduct many domestic tournaments for the locals. They are making steady progress; the tournament in Goa was very significant. We hope that they will be able to make it into the squad along with the expatriates,” said Ian Bremner – CEO of UAERA.

While Mohamed (31-years-old) and Yousuf (25-years-old) are past their prime their main focus is to further the rugby career of their brother Mohanned,who is just 22. In their short career ahead together,however,they have ambitions to achieve prominence as the rugby trio of Asia,much like the Jones’ and the Goulds’ of Wales.