Dubai: Dubai Sports City will be this weekend’s venue for the second and final rugby face-off between the Dubai and Abu Dhabi squads assembled for the inaugural Bill McLaren Foundation Challenge Cup.
The Dubai team, selected from the emirate’s Exiles, Dragons, Hurricanes and Wasps squads by Scottish rugby star Rory Lawson, will look to avenge last week’s 40-24 defeat at the hands of the Abu Dhabi side at Zayed Sports City.
The Abu Dhabi team is made up of Harlequins and Saracens players. Kick-off is at 6pm on Friday at Dubai Sports City and entry is free and open to all.
The rugby games are at the heart of a three-tiered series in aid of the sporting ethos personified by Bill McLaren, the world-renowned ‘voice of rugby,’ who passed away aged 86 in 2010. Other events include a fund-raising long lunch headlined by South African rugby captain John Smit at the Emirates Golf Club tomorrow (April 17, 2014). Smit, former Scotland captain Jason White and Lawson will share their experiences at the interactive event.
McLaren, a promising rugby player and coach before turning commentator, ruled the BBC Radio and Television rugby airwaves for nearly 50 years. His unmatched depth of knowledge about the game and its players was matched only by his modesty, his respect for winners and losers alike and his true sportsmanship, all leading to his becoming the first non-international to be inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. His contributions to the sporting world also earned him MBE, OBE and CBE honours from the British government.
The Bill McLaren Foundation, set up with the support of his family, promotes the development of the sport and his gentlemanly values and champions sporting opportunities for youth around the world. McLaren’s grandsons Rory Lawson and Jim Thompson, noted rugby players in their own right, support the foundation around the world including the UAE.
Entrance to the rugby matches is free. The Bill McLaren Foundation events in the UAE are sponsored by Xodus, Gulf Marine Services, Anantara Dubai Resort & Spa and MMI.
