Dubai: UAE fullback Hassan Al Noobi is taking positives from what was a mixed Asian Rugby Championship Division Two campaign for him personally last week.
The 28-year-old became the first Emirati to score a try in a Test match in their opening 53-22 win over Thailand, but then missed two late penalties in a 20-19 defeat to Malaysia to miss out on promotion.
The UAE eventually finished second behind Malaysia after winning their last game against Chinese Taipei 16-12 on Saturday. Al Noobi, who was the only Emirati to feature in all three games, totalled 23 points with one try, eight conversions and two penalties to finish as his country’s top scorer but the Malaysia defeat may come back to haunt him.
“I was already stressed because we were losing by one point and I didn’t want to miss the penalty,” Al Noobi said of the Malaysia defeat. “As I was trying to concentrate on the kick I heard 4,000 voices in my head going ‘O-o-o-oh’ and I couldn’t concentrate. I was really angry and spoke to the referee, but he said he couldn’t do anything about it.
“I’m disappointed because we missed out on promotion but this is our opportunity to get first next year, if we stay together and train well we will be better next year.”
The former Al Nasr footballer, who switched sports because he saw that “more people watched rugby than football in Dubai,” added that becoming the first Emirati to score a Test try was significant.
“It means a lot. This is an opportunity for locals to see that there is a chance for them in the game, to learn and get into the sport,” he said.
“This has given me more confidence to keep going, my teammates have encouraged me not to stop, to go to the gym and train more for the future.
“I feel in five to six years time the UAE 15s team could be entirely made up of Emiratis and I know the board members are working hard to bring more Emiratis into the game.”
