Latest news with #JacquesBenade
The National
15-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
Coach Jacques Benade demands better from UAE after humbling by Hong Kong in Asia Rugby Championship opener
Jacques Benade, the UAE coach, is calling for improvement from his side after they made a false start to the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) in defeat to Hong Kong. The national team had entered the tournament on a wave of optimism. They finished second last year for the first time in their history. That was the incentive for a vastly improved programme as they prepared for this year's ARC, which carries with it a qualifying place for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. They played two Autumn Test matches, against Zimbabwe and Germany, and preceded this tournament with a tour to Kenya. Hopes were high that they could push for top spot, and a trip to Australia for the World Cup. But Hong Kong are the favourites for qualification for good reason. They have won the past five ARCs. Previous to that, they were runners up four years in a row against Japan, who have since switched from Asian competition to play more fixtures against Tier 1 nations. And Hong Kong showed their class straight from the off, as they outplayed the home side in a 43-10 at The Sevens, Dubai, on Saturday. The difference in quality was laid bare at set pieces. The UAE were penalised at the vast majority of scrums, while the tourists established the lead via two push over tries from line outs. The frustration for the home side was the fact there were positive moments which showed they could compete with their well-drilled visitors. They made an alarmingly nervy start, but Gerard Pieterse, the debutant full-back, snapped them into action with a crunching, try-saving tackle on Alexander Post, the Hong Kong hooker. Brad Janes, the Jebel Ali Dragons flanker who was outstanding on his UAE debut, scored the try his performance deserved. The UAE were within touching distance at that point, at 15-10. When they then botching a golden chance to go into half-time 22-17 behind with an attacking scrum underneath Hong Kong's posts, the game went away from them. 'We are all disappointed,' Benade, the UAE coach, said. 'Looking at the boys in the dressing room, their heads were down, and I don't think we played as well as we could. 'We are better than that. Given how hard we work for everything, that was just not good enough for us. We should be better, and there will be a lot of hard work this week. 'We need to be honest with ourselves, and there are no more excuses. We need to step up as a group and play better rugby next week.' The national team travel to Incheon to face South Korea next Saturday. Their ambitions will likely now be revised down to a runners-up place, which would keep alive their World Cup qualification hopes. The second placed side in the ARC will enter a play-off system which concludes with a week-long tournament in Dubai in November. The winner of that will also make it to the World Cup. The Koreans began their tournament with a thrilling 38-34 win against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday. Benade knows a big improvement needs to be made if they are to take points in Incheon, particularly at scrum time. 'They [Hong Kong] were very good up front,' Benade said. 'They will have known from last year we do put an emphasis on our scrums. It was something that didn't work tonight and we have three sessions to fix that. 'We have seen that if you can't get good set-piece ball, you can't play rugby. From the start, we made mistakes. From the kick off, we couldn't get the ball away. 'It was completely different to what we have been practising over the past five weeks, and then you realise the boys are under pressure. 'It is hard work, and we need to get it fixed. We need to get them to believe they can compete against boys like that. 'They are a very good side, but we showed what could happen when you put them under pressure.' Joshua Hrstich, the Hong Kong captain, said his side were satisfied with their opening day win, in which they ran in six tries to one by the UAE. 'We are pretty excited to get out of the desert with maximum [points] and get our campaign off to a good start,' Hrstich said. 'Pressure is a privilege. We are taking this tournament one game at a time. You just have to watch the Korea-Sri Lanka game to see that everyone is dangerous. We are taking no one lightly.'
The National
05-06-2025
- General
- The National
Jacques Benade ends stint as Dubai Exiles coach after decade of excellence at UAE's oldest rugby club
Jacques Benade says he is 'going to miss it so badly' but added now is the right time to end his highly successful stint as head coach of Dubai Exiles. The South African has been in charge of the UAE's oldest rugby club for nine years. During that time, they have been the most consistently competitive side in the country. He took them to three West Asia Premiership finals, winning in 2017, while they also won three UAE Premiership titles on his watch, as well as the Dubai Sevens in 2017 and 2021. Benade is also the UAE coach. He is currently readying the national team for a tilt at World Cup qualification via the Asian Rugby Championship, which starts with a fixture against Hong Kong in Dubai on Saturday June 14. 'It will feel strange to sit at home on Saturday – my wife will love it, I'm sure,' Benade said of his decision to step down from the Exiles. 'It will feel strange not to see the boys but I'm sure I will be there supporting all the teams. 'I am going to miss the boys, but I do think it will be good for them to get someone new in, and rebuild, and see where we want to go. 'The club is in a good place at the moment. There are a lot of good players there, and I wish all the best to whoever is going to take over as they are good quality people.' Benade, who first started coaching when he was 31, remains in charge of rugby at Dubai College, and is grateful to coach for a living. 'It has been 25 years and this is what I love,' Benade said. 'I think I am very fortunate to be able to do something that I love every day. 'School is getting tougher, there is more competition, and rugby overall in the UAE is getting better. There are very good coaches everywhere. 'I am going to miss it so badly, but I think it is the right time. With every coach, I think they need to realise there is a time to move on and look at something different.' Typically, rugby clubs in the region have enjoyed waves of success but found it difficult to sustain over long periods of time. Dubai Hurricanes, for example, are the reigning UAE and West Asia champions after a remarkable end to last season, but two years earlier they had been playing second tier rugby. Benade himself took over an Exiles team in 2016 who had just won a double of trophies, having been on their knees not long before. I do think it will be good for them to get someone new in and rebuild Jacques Benade In 2012, the Exiles had been forced to withdraw from the top flight of domestic rugby while the season was running due to a lack of numbers. Jan Venter, Benade's predecessor as coach, got the club back on a successful footing, but he handed over a side who were again set for transition. 'I'll never forget when I first arrived and got a list of players from Jan Venter at the Exiles,' Benade said. 'I phoned them all, and finished up with 12 boys who were still playing rugby. Everybody else had just left. 'From not knowing what was going on, we started recruiting, got an unbelievably good team together, and to win the double in my first year was just immense.' It was a feature of Benade's spell at the Exiles that their standards rarely slipped, and they consistently challenged for trophies. Whether they can maintain that after he has left remains to be seen, but he believes they are a club in good health. 'We have an old team at the moment,' Benade said. 'Matt Mills [the UAE co-captain] and some of those boys started with me 10 years ago. It is unbelievable. 'They have been really good working together but it is also sometimes hard to recruit when you have a really settled team. [Other players] can't see a way in and they don't want to leave other clubs. 'Also, you work so hard, and we really wanted to go for the double this year, but we lost at the end against a Hurricanes team who just never stop playing rugby. 'But I had an unbelievable 10 years, and I absolutely love the club. It is a great club.' Jon Ebbitt, the club's former general manager, said Benade had left behind 'an incredible legacy' at the Exiles. 'Arguably Jacques' most important legacy at the club is the structure and player pathway that he implemented during his tenure as the Exiles' director of rugby,' Ebbitt said. 'Owing to [that], many Exiles' mini and youth, boys and girls, as well as men and women, have come through the pathway to represent the UAE on the international stage.' Ebbitt pointed out that, during the 2022-23 season, 34 Exiles represented the UAE at Under 18, Under 20, or senior levels in competitions across Asia. Benade said that player development has been one of the highlights of the job, while it is 'most rewarding seeing players go into coaching as well, from what they have learnt from you'.
