Jack Stapley continues family tradition as he eyes Rugby World Cup qualification with UAE

Centre followed his father in playing representative rugby when national team faced Germany in Dubai

Jack Stapley during UAE's rugby Test against Germany at The Sevens in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

During the topsy-turvy history of the UAE rugby team, there have been moments when it has been difficult to persuade players living in the country to turn out for Test matches on their own doorstep.

How times change. When rousing wins against South Korea and Malaysia in the summer sent expectations soaring, it made the idea of playing for the national team more appealing than it has ever been before. So much so that players are happy to put work on hold to travel across the world to wear the shirt.

With the goal of qualifying for the next Rugby World Cup in mind, the national team have been looking to expand their player pool beyond locally based players. They have targeted players who are eligible for selection but living abroad.

One such player completed a neat family double when he turned out for the UAE against Germany at The Sevens in Dubai on Saturday.

Jack Stapley came back from the UK, where he plays for Nottingham in the Championship, which is the second tier of English rugby.

On the sidelines, his dad, Pete, was wearing a shirt carrying the Arabian Gulf logo, which was the side that preceded the UAE as the representative team for the region, and for which he played.

“It is a big move for me,” Jack Stapley said. “It is a huge opportunity for us to qualify for the World Cup next year.

“My dad played for the Arabian Gulf back in the day, and hopefully my brother will be able to get back playing as well. My girlfriend said I should go for it, and I have a really good support network with my family, so it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. I call this place home.”

Stapley, 28, was born in the UAE and did all of his schooling at Jumeirah College. After attending Loughborough University, he played Championship rugby for Jersey, and has since played 50 games for Nottingham.

The sport is clearly in his blood. His brother, Tom, is on the comeback trail after a knee injury stalled his own promising career. Mother Annie also previously won the Dubai Sevens as a player for the Exiles women’s side.

Having been in contact with Apollo Perelini, UAE Rugby’s performance manager, for some time, Stapley was persuaded to take up the offer to join the squad after seeing the wins over Korea and Malaysia.

“I had seen the programme and had spoken to the guys [about playing] in June,” Stapley said.

“It didn’t quite work out with my job in the UK and with Nottingham. It was probably just a bit too quick in terms of the timing.

“When I saw the boys playing fantastically in the Asia Rugby Championship [ARC] last season, beating Korea and Malaysia here at The Sevens, I thought it was definitely something I had to get involved in.”

Although the UAE suffered a 26-20 loss to the Germans, their display was a vast improvement on their loss to Zimbabwe earlier in the month.

In addition to giving up 19 places in the world rankings to their visitors, they had also been down to 14 men for three-quarters of the game.

Stapley, who has been allowed to work remotely with his job as a sales associate when his rugby commitments require it, said the side were proud of their display.

“It was a really good bounce back from Zimbabwe,” he said. “There was a real buzz in the squad for being able to put out a performance, and I think we did that. The bounce of the rugby ball here and there, the rub of the green, and maybe that is a different result.

“Being 20 places behind in the rankings, to be able to put in a performance like that and lose by a score, then come within 10 metres of getting over the line at the end, is a massive testament to the way we have grown as a squad.

“We have got the belief in the squad that we can compete with sides like Germany and hopefully next year in the Asia Rugby Championship.”

Jacques Benade, the UAE coach, said Stapley had made a positive first impression, saying, “with the experience of that level in the back line from playing at Nottingham, [he] brings something different.”

Benade hopes his side can maintain the spirit they showed in the loss to Germany throughout the long gap until they next play XVs together.

The winners of next summer’s Asian Rugby Championship will qualify directly for the next World Cup. Benade is hopeful they can arrange two more friendlies before they face Hong Kong, the defending ARC champions, in Dubai in June.

“We just have to be patient, and hopefully we can keep building, building and building,” Benade said.

“Individually we have to work so hard now, especially over the holiday period. We have a camp at the end of January where we will bring all the boys together again to try to keep the focus.

“The boys just need a bit of confidence as well. Zimbabwe shocked us a little bit, but I know we can do it. I know we can compete against those boys.

“We are still a little bit naïve at times, making the wrong calls here and there, but it was an excellent performance [against Germany].”