• • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Stumble Upon
  • Furl

Robin Heymann

They say that the beauty of Sevens is that ‘anyone can beat anyone’. Fair enough I suppose, but for Dubai Sevens hosts, the Arabian Gulf, being pooled with defending champions South Africa, World Champions Wales, and Australia for this year’s Dubai Sevens, is about as daunting as it gets for the region’s top amateur players.

There’s nothing like hitting the ground running when starting a new job though and for the Gulf’s new man in charge, Kiwi Shane Thornton, the first day of the tournament could certainly give him an indicator of his player’s strength of character.

Thornton comes across as your typical Kiwi bloke, known as ‘Junior’ to his friends and teammates, he has been bought up on a stable diet of rugby from a kid growing up.

'Tietj' an inspiration

“Coming from New Zealand, rugby is bred into us. I played rugby all through school. I played fifteens and Sevens for a successful country club, Hautapu. This led me on to play NPC fifteens and sevens," said Thornton.

Thornton is no stranger to Dubai either, having turned out in the desert in previous years for the Warbler Dubai side that has played in the invitational tournaments - regarded as personal highlight.

He comes highly recommended with perhaps the most striking feature on his CV being his time in Sevens spent with guru Gordon Tietjens. It instilled him with core values for the shortened code that will form the backbone of what he wants Arabian Gulf Sevens to be all about.

"I am passionate about Rugby Sevens and am enjoying working with a motivated group of players. They all come to training with an open and positive attitude to learn new aspects about the game," said the new coach.

“He (Tietjens) has been influential to me, in the way he has found developing young talent, who generally go far in their rugby career. Like him I have incorporated a high level of fitness and a sound defence structure in our play,” added Thornton.

The fitness aspect is especially important such are the markers set these days by the big boys on the world circuit. Trying to compete with the likes of South Africa, England, and New Zealand on a purely skill based level is hard enough, but by throwing into the mixer their extraordinary strength and stamina and you start to understand how tough it can be for the lower ranked sides.

The appointment of Conditioner James Houghton is a step in the right direction though and gives the Arabian Gulf a far better platform to launch a decent assault on the world’s best. Thornton and Houghton have by all accounts been beasting the boys under the fiery sun in recent weeks as fine tuning continues in the lead up to the big weekend.

"When you are up against talented sides, such as South Africa and New Zealand, we all need to take a professional approach. However, it is important to remember our players are amateurs who are up against paid players. Having the likes of James Houghton, demonstrates our commitment to being professional," continued Thornton.

Physio Lacey Congram is also helping the side to get in peak physical condition and is monitoring players on a one on one basis to make sure the right balance is created. Fatigue and overtraining can play a major part in causing burn-out and injury and considering players must work long hours in full-time jobs then travel long distances to train late into the evening, their nutrition and recovery during the day can sometimes be shoddy.

Staying off the kebabs

One player taking commuting to training to new extremes is Jonny Macdonald. Although still a young man himself he has become one of the key cogs for the side, impressing at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in March. Born and bought up in Abu Dhabi, Macdonald headed to secondary school in the UK, enjoying stints at Saracens Academy and Bedford. He played in the local club event two years ago for Abu Dhabi, acting as the catalyst for his inclusion into the Gulf’s set-up.

Now studying at university in Cardiff, his passion for Sevens is still very much in evidence, regularly turning out with his mates for the Harpenden Praetorians around the UK over the summer. He is still committed to representing the region and makes regular grueling trips back home for training and his 15s career is also blossoming with hopes of representation at the Asian Five Nations in the coming summer.

“It is tough balancing my student life, both academic and extracurricular, and playing international rugby, with the dietary and fitness guidelines I am supposed to follow. There are obviously alternative, more attractive, distractions at university! However in order to compete at these top levels you have to be in top condition and I try to be as much as possible,” says Macdonald.

The constant flying isn’t ideal tonic for his body or the wallet of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Union, which itself is a compliment to Macdonald as they feel he is a worthy investment.

It was touch and go to whether Macdonald would indeed be fit as he recovered from a serious groin operation seven weeks ago but he has made the cut and is determined to enjoy the experience after the bittersweet experience of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai earlier this year.

“I learnt a lot. It was mostly good but it also had quite large negatives for me. My performance against Tonga wasn't up to scratch and at this level a mistake can really affect the result of games.

“The World Cup weekend however was probably one of my best weekends; just to be involved in such a spectacle was an incredible honour. For the sevens this year I'm going to try and go out and enjoy every minute of it.

“It’s very exciting to be placed in such a tough group, it’s why we play - to be measured against the best teams in the world.”

Unsure future?

With the world-class sporting events coming thick and fast to the region, Macdonald still feels the Dubai Sevens is the most premier event going such is the buzz it generates amongst the throngs of well lubricated expatriates. Thornton though is determined to keep his side’s feet on the ground and not to be overwhelmed.

“As a team, we have a challenge ahead and are focussing on just that. It is exciting to be part of one of Dubai’s biggest events; however it is important that we are concentrating on the task ahead and not getting affected by the hype. We receive a great deal of local support from the community, which definitely helps with the excitement and buzz around town.

“This year we have been particularly well supported by local companies in our build up and preparation for the tournament inlcuding MediCentres, who will be our shirt sponsors this year and are also providing our medical support.”

As far as this side goes there is no excuse for leaving anything in the tank with no planned Sevens tournament in the near future post Dubai. As is the case with many nations, the recurring theme seems to be a commitment and drive for unions to focus on the qualification stages of the 2011 World Cup.

For the Arabian Gulf, time, energy and finances are also being placed on the Asian 5 Nations competition to give them some momentum ahead of qualifiers and with the player pool not as wide as other nations many of the Sevens stars will be also plying their trade with their 15-a-side chums.

Once these are done and dusted perhaps more money will be pumped into the Sevens set-up to allow the side to spread their wings further and compete at more tournaments. Although the Olympic factor is exciting for the likes of Macdonald the region will be split up into its individual countries so there is still some uncertainty into what lies ahead for 2016. For now though all focus remains on the next nine days or so and the small matter of fronting up against South Africa, Wales, and Australia on one day. 

"We are looking forward to the challenge of playing extremely talented sides. Our goal is to make top eight but we will focus on one game at a time," added Macdonald.