--First Qatari plays for Doha rugby centre--

First Qatari plays for Doha rugby centre

By Peter Townson

A QATARI national turned out for Doha Rugby Football Centre for the first time in their history last weekend, in a cup match against the Dubai-based French Frogs.
Mohamed al-Malki, a 24-year-old senior IT technician at QP, played for the Qatar National team in the Asian Games in 2006 and has continued his passion for the sport, turning out for Doha’s first fifteen last weekend.
Al-Malki told Gulf Times that he had watched rugby before he got involved in the sport, and thought that it would be something he would enjoy. After training with DRFC a couple of times, he was approached to join the Qatar national team, and was “very excited” at the opportunity to represent his country at international level.
And now he is very pleased to be involved with DRFC. He explained that the game is very different, as he has only played 7’s in the past, but said that in his first game in a full fifteen-player team he had learnt a lot and now feels comfortable playing the full form of the game.
“A lot of my Qatari friends are put off rugby because of the physical nature of the game, but as soon as you are tackled for the first time you get a flavour for what the sport is all about, and realise that you have no reason to be scared of who is standing in front of you,” he said.
“This will help you not only in the sport, but also in your daily life,” he added.
According to al-Malki, there are plenty of talented young Qataris with the physical attributes necessary to be “good rugby players,” who “must watch some rugby and then give it a try.”
“I think the game has a great future here, and local teams will be established here as well,” he claimed, arguing that the Qatar Rugby Federation has work to do to bring together like-minded young sportsmen and really develop the sport in Qatar.
Chairman of DRFC, Howard Bevan said he was delighted that a Qatari national had represented the club: “We are open to all nationalities at DRFC and take any players who want to play the sport, and we are always pleased when Qataris get involved in the club.”
“Since the Asian Games we have supported the development of rugby in Qatar as much as possible, and we are pleased to see the fruits of this support with Mohamed being the first Qatari national to have played for DRFC,” he added.

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