Jacques Benade, the UAE coach, wants his side to prove their worth in the top flight of Asian rugby by beating Sri Lanka on Friday.
Victory in Colombo would likely give the national team second place in the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship (ARC).
It would be the second time in two seasons they have been runners-up since their long-cherished return to the top tier of the continental game last year.
Second place would also extend their pursuit of a berth in the 2027 Rugby World Cup. It would earn them a play-off against the second-best side in the equivalent competition in Africa, to be played later in July.
Hong Kong comfortably beat the UAE on the opening weekend of competition in Dubai, and are chasing their sixth ARC title in a row.
That would give them direct qualification to the World Cup, becoming the second Asian side at the event alongside Japan, who automatically qualified via their finishing position in the last World Cup.
While qualifying for the World Cup will still be a considerable challenge if the UAE finish second, Benade says they are focused on consolidating their status as the best side behind trailblazing Hong Kong.
“By winning two [matches, against South Korea and Malaysia] last year, we put a marker down,” Benade said.
“This is where we want to be. We want to be the second-best team in Asian rugby if we can't be the best team.
“We have to learn a lot from Hong Kong, as a union, in terms of how they manage things. Hopefully we can pick up, and finishing second again this year would give us that confidence that we are getting better, we are pushing [for] something special in three or four years.
“It would be very disappointing if we went and lost against Sri Lanka. They are an unbelievably good side. We saw them against New Zealand Under-85[kgs], and we saw how they pushed Korea all the way.”
Sri Lanka prepared for the ARC with matches against a touring side from New Zealand. They then lost narrowly at home to South Korea in their first match, before being soundly beaten by Hong Kong.
The UAE suffered a similar fate in their opener against Hong Kong, but bounced back to take a thrilling win in South Korea. That was the first time they had won in Korea, having claimed a maiden win against the same opposition on home soil in Dubai a year earlier.
“You could see when the whistle went that the players had really wanted it,” Benade said of the comeback win in Incheon last time out.
“We were very disappointed against Hong Kong. We worked so hard, but it was maybe just one week too early.
“When we hit Korea, the boys were hurt. They wanted to be better. Last week [before the Korea trip] we put five or six training sessions in. That’s how much the boys wanted it, and it shows the attitude.
“I have big respect for those boys. They are working in the morning, starting at 7 or 8 o’clock, and finishing at 5 or 6 o’clock to come and train, then going home at 10-11 o’clock. It is holiday season now.
“To then go out and believe we could beat Korea, and the rugby we played, I think is a massive credit to them. I am so proud and happy for them.”
Benade said the players are feeling “excitement and nerves” ahead of the decisive fixture at the Colombo Racecourse ground.
“We thought we would know after the second game [against South Korea] where we are,” Benade said.
“Are we going to fight not to finish fourth? Are we going to fight maybe to win? Or are we going to fight to be second?
“We and Korea and Sri Lanka are so close in terms of points difference that we need that win. For us, it opens the door to give us another opportunity [to try to qualify for the World Cup].
“It will be a massive, massive task for us. We just need to go out and win. That is all we need: we just need a win.
“We will work hard on our defence. We will maybe change a wee bit how we want to play. Scrummaging, we will have to attack them, and we may have to maul a wee bit, put them under pressure, and keep the ball away from them, because they are very good with the ball in hand.
“It is going to be a very tough game, but how good would it be to finish second and have another bite at the cherry. That is what the boys want to go for. They just want to get another opportunity by going to play in [the play-off].”
