From little acorns…
It is said that from little acorns, great oak trees grow. In the case of the Dubai Exiles Rugby Football Club (DERFC or The Exiles), it has been from the seed of a palm tree, planted in the late 1960’s on the banks of the Creek in Bur Dubai, in the very heart of Dubai.
Fixing posts in Al Awir.
Pitches had to be raked constantly and stones removed before matches.
The first matches that the new (and as yet unnamed) team played were against various British military sides, based in neighbouring Sharjah. The military provided not only the pitch, the referee and refreshments, but often some of the expatriates’ team as well. From these early encounters, the nucleus of today’s club was formed and the players therein soon realised that if their ambitions were to be fulfilled they would have to find their own ground on which to play and perhaps a name for their team too.
With the help of the Dubai Municipality and through the good grace of His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the then Ruler of Dubai, the pioneers obtained the use of a small plot of land in Bur Dubai and set about grading, levelling and marking it as well as erecting the posts. With the appearance of the familiar shaped uprights the number of ex-players, new players and bar players increased every month.
However, arriving one Friday for their weekly match, our heroes found that they had to share their pitch with a line of telegraph poles running straight down the middle of it. This was something of an obstacle to their free flowing and running rugby; something urgent needed to be done.
The Police Pipe Band before the start of one of the early Dubai 7s weekends.
Preparing for a game while the temporary stands are assembled in the 1970s.
The good news is that this setback proved to be only temporary, for Dubai›s benevolent ruler at that time, His Highness Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, came to the rescue with the generous donation to the Club of a large plot of land in Al Awir, next to Dubai’s Country Club. In the next two years the Dubai Exiles, as they were by then known, grew from a group of irregulars to a fully constituted rugby club affiliated with the RFU in Twickenham, England.
The Club formed a committee, erected a clubhouse (a 35 x 15 foot aluminium shack) and had a membership of 40. Games were still mainly limited to matches against the Sharjah-based British military teams, but in 1970, their fixture list expanded to include new clubs in Abu Dhabi, and soon thereafter Bahrain, Muscat and Das Island. Another major event was inaugurated that year in the shape of the Benson and Hedges Dubai 7s Rugby Tournament, which has since become one of the largest sporting events in the Middle East, and a major part of the world rugby calendar. This all continues today in the shape of the HSBC World 7s series, where Dubai is a proud and permanent fixture as one of the 8 cities that host the series around the world.
By 1972 the Exiles, now with inspirational club patron His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai at the helm, had a membership of 100 and an ever increasing fixture list of both home and away matches. This increase in numbers prompted a campaign to raise funds to build a new clubhouse and, in less than a year, the group raised AED 300,000 through private and public donations, not least of which was a most generous gift from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed himself.
Peter Muir being presented with his trophy in 1974 by a young Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
By 1977 the club had over 200 members. That year the Benson & Hedges 7s tournament also provided a record entry of 23 teams and over 5,000 spectators turned out to enjoy two days of rugby in true Twickenham traditions; it was even reported on in The Times in London.
The 1977 season also saw the first official overseas tour for the club to Sri Lanka. By 1979 two good quality sand pitches were in use, and floodlights were erected at a cost of AED 80,000 to allow the club to train and play in the evenings.
The Dubai Exiles were truly on the march…
The growth of the Club continued exponentially throughout the 1980s, while the 1990s saw more infrastructure being added in the form of more sand pitches, a double storey clubhouse and a concrete stand with seven changing rooms. 1996 saw the first grass pitches installed in preparation for the pre-qualifying round of the World Cup 7s, which that season was being held during the annual Dubai tournament.
The Exiles are immensely proud to have been heavily involved in the promotion of rugby 7s at the highest level. In 1999 the Club, along with our patron HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, our then sponsor Emirates Airlines, and the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (the AGRFU) were honoured to host the first ever games to be played in the I.R.B. World Sevens Series. This is a privilege which, apart from 2001 (due to the tragic events of September 11th in the USA) has been repeated annually to this day.
The Dubai Exiles head to the Hong Kong Sevens.
1990 Exiles 7s team.
1991 Sharjah Tournament – First Dubai Exiles ladies team.
Over the years clubs both amateur and professional, as well as individual stars of the game and visiting schools have come from all over the world to visit us and to enjoy traditional Exiles hospitality both on the field and in the club house. This stream of visitors has always included sailors from various navies patrolling the Arabian Gulf seeking to stretch their legs on land during their port visits to Dubai. This is a tradition that also continues to this very day.
In 2007 however, an event occurred which shook the club to its very core. A letter arrived from Dubai Municipality informing the Club that the lands it had been bequeathed over 40 years before were to be reclaimed by the Dubai Municipality in order to facilitate space for the dynamic expansion of the city. The operating landscape for Dubai Exiles and the other rugby clubs in the UAE was about to change beyond all recognition.
New Zealand v Fiji in the semi-final of the 2006 IRB Dubai 7s at Dubai Exiles Rugby Club.
With the loss of the Al Awir grounds, the Exiles needed a large new home, and they needed one fast. Fortunately two other renowned Dubai institutions, Emirates Airline and Dubai College stepped in to assist.
Emirates had already become the main sponsor of the international section of the Dubai 7s, and was well on the path to becoming a globally recognised brand in many sports, in particular Rugby, Cricket and Soccer. The airline promptly announced the development of a new, world class, multi-pitch rugby facility outside of the city on the Al Ain road.
Some 18 months after the Exiles lost their old home, they moved down the E66 to become a tenant at the appropriately named “7he Sevens” stadium.
In the interim, Dubai College, the premier international school in Dubai, graciously allowed the Exiles Mini & Youth section to train on their school pitches for 12 months until the new facility was up and running in full.
UAERF & West Asia Premiership Champions 2015-16.
One of the first games held at the Al Awir rugby pitch.
UAERF & West Asia Premiership Champions 2015-16.
UAERF & West Asia Premiership Champions 2015-16.
Dubai 7s Final 2017
Dubai Exiles defeating the Jebel Ali Dragons in the final of the 2017 Gulf Men’s competition at the Emirates Dubai Sevens.
Dubai 7s Final 2021
Dubai Exiles defeating the Dubai Tigers in the final of the 2021 Gulf Men’s competition at the Emirates Dubai Sevens.
“We have much to be proud of; reaching this golden anniversary [2016], founding the now world class Dubai 7s, the trophies and competitions we have won over the years, the good causes we have helped, the Club House and pitches that we built out of desert sands at Al Aweer, the players we have exported and who have gone on to greater things elsewhere – the list is a long one.
As we look to the next 50 years we are about to start a new chapter at the Sevens Stadium where our landlord Emirates Airline (with whom we share a long and successful history), has gracefully allowed us to build our own new Exiles club facility at what is a truly world class rugby stadium”.
Mike Wolff (Former Dubai Exiles RFC Chairman)
Dubai Exiles 1st XV 1977-1978.
Dubai Exiles 1st XV 1987.
Dubai Exiles Ladies 1st XV 1991.
