DUBAI // When Mohammed Hassan Rahma went under the surgeon's knife for a fourth time to repair a wrecked knee, he doubted whether he would ever return to a rugby field at all.
The fact he has enjoyed an injury-free return to the game this season, three years after becoming the first Emirati to play representative rugby at an international tournament, has been pleasurable enough.
Now, with two weeks to go until the best part of 40,000 people pack the scaffolding stands at the Dubai Rugby Sevens, he is allowing himself to dream a little more.
Rahma has been pitched into the UAE Shaheen side, a development squad of Emirati players, for this weekend's Goa Sevens.
He knows it is the last chance to impress before the final selections are made for the senior sevens squad for the most important weekend of the country's rugby calendar.
"I am very keen to show them what I have got," Rahma said.
"I would like to make the team for the Dubai Rugby Sevens, especially as it is the last tournament before the UAE have to qualify to play in it next season."
Rahma was a try-scoring member of a pioneering group of Emirati players who first played in the Local Social competition at the 2005 Sevens.
The Shaheen squad finds its roots in that Dubai Falcons team, and, even though he has spent so much time away from the sport, Rahma knows he will be touring with some old friends this weekend.
"It took me such a long time to get back," he said. "Rugby has changed so quickly, and to have a UAE development team is very impressive.
"It was great to see how far the guys had stepped up their game when we played at [Friday's] Jebel Ali Sevens. The style of game was totally different to when I played before."
Rahma plays domestic rugby with the Abu Dhabi Saracens in the UAE Conference, and he will become the first player from the newly formed club to play at an international representative tournament.
Brett Bowie, the Saracens captain, believes Rahma's speed across the ground will make him a threat in rugby's abbreviated format.
"I'd say he's better suited to sevens than he is XVs, because he doesn't need much space to zip through," Bowie said.
"He is not afraid of physicality, but the amount of gas he has got and the quality of his footwork - as with a lot of Emirati guys - is what is really impressive.
"If he gets a chance to run, he will be gone. There are not that many players who will be able to run him down, I'm sure of that."
pradley@thenational.ae
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
