The UAE did not deliver on their stated aim of a tournament whitewash and immediate promotion back to the second rung of Asian rugby this week.
They did stem the bleeding, but, if results are the only gauge, it was a middling week.
Much has been gained from their Asian Championship Division 2 campaign in which they beat Thailand and Chinese Taipei, and lost by a point to Malaysia.
The slide, which had for so long seemed terminal, has been arrested, attitudes have changed and people are looking up.
According to Chris Jones-Griffiths, the prop who scored the decisive try in Saturday’s win over Chinese Taipei, the atmosphere in the national set up is “definitely” the best it has been.
“There has been a bit of apathy over the years from guys who have qualified [to play for UAE] but, for whatever reason, have not fancied flying over Asia going to great locations playing rugby,” he said.
“It is more of an attractive prospect now. There is a positive feeling in the camp.”
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No one is better qualified to comment on the matter because out of 23 Test matches played by the UAE, Jones-Griffiths has missed one, a fixture against Brazil.
That is despite him being a converted loose forward who has played his whole international career in the unforgiving climes of the front row.
When he and his fellow tourists head back from this trip, they will come armed with stories of success to tell their club mates and potential future national team colleagues.
A narrative of triumph will replace the cautionary tales from the bad old days of going to Japan and Hong Kong to see the sights, then being beaten up on the field.
“We have come away, not with topping the league, which was our aim, but I certainly think we have turned the tide,” said Adam Telford, the captain.
“We have a new group of guys and the majority of us are buying in to the idea of sticking together as a core group and building for next year.”
Keeping the same side together will be a major part of the forward plan, but it is not an easy job when there is such a long gap between competitive fixtures.
In 721 days between being knocked out of Asia’s top flight by the Philippines in Manila and playing this week, the national XVs side had one match.
When they lost to Singapore in their lone Test of 2014, it felt familiar — “here we go again, this feeling of defeat is what we are used to”.
This week’s one-point loss to Malaysia hurt much more, though, as expectations had been raised, and not just by the win over Thailand three days earlier.
The side believed in themselves and had hope that they were on the way up, which is what made the ensuing despair more acute.
“Gutted” was the only word most of them could muster when that ascent was checked by the Malaysian side.
Roelof Kotze, the performance manager, hopes to maintain the sense of attachment within the squad by having more active involvement with the players during the domestic campaign.
There is also talk of friendly fixtures against Lebanon or Qatar, which, if they can be organised within the season, would help focus the minds of the international players in the long gap between Tests.
“We will do specific work with them, to make sure that we can do the work over the course of a year, rather than just cram it all in at the end,” Kotze said.
“We had enough time together this time. I don’t think we could blame that. It was really just a case of having a bad day at the office. Now let’s move on.
“We now know what it’s like to play three games in six days. We will adapt and fix it.”
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