Dubai College girls' team want to put UAE rugby on the map at Rosslyn Park Sevens

The pioneering Dubai College girls’ team are aiming to put UAE rugby on the map when they play at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens in London for the first time this week.

The side from the Al Sufouh-based school will play in the Under 18 section of the tournament, which is said to be the largest schools rugby tournament in the world.

Initially a tournament played between British public schools, Rosslyn Park Sevens now involves nearly 10,000 boys and girls, from schools in countries as diverse as China, India, Nigeria and Poland.

There are 48 teams in Dubai College’s competition, with DC and a school from Belgium the only ones from beyond the British Isles. It is the first time a girls side from UAE has played in the event.

“The boys in our age group have gone to play there before, but we didn’t even know there was a girls’ tournament,” Megan Theocharis, DC’s captain and one of five UAE national team representatives in the team, said.

“We saw some photos of girls playing. In September, our coach decided we have a good team this year, so looked in to entering [the tournament].

“We just want to go out and smash it. We have a really strong team this year. We want to go out and test the other teams, who probably think we’re just this school from Dubai.”

The side will depart for London on Tuesday. They have a friendly fixture planned for Wednesday, before the main competition takes place on Friday.

Dubai College Girls rugby team training ahead of trip to Rosslyn Park Sevens in the UK. Antonie Robertson / The National

DC only played their first full-contact girls’ tournament earlier in the school year. They acknowledge they are unable to benchmark themselves against their prospective opponents as yet, but are