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| Sky's the limit: Thamer wants to forge a Saudi Arabia national team [AL JAZEERA] |
Pacific Islander blood may run through his veins, but Thamer Al-Shehri has one burning ambition – to play Rugby Union for his native Saudi Arabia.
Born to a Samoan mother and a Saudi father, Thamer grew up in Riyadh playing soccer with his five brothers.
But when a Tongan uncle stepped in with the ambition of turning all six siblings into rugby players, the student was only too happy to get away from the play-acting and posturing of the 11-a-side game.
Falcons flying
Three years on, the 19-year-old is in Dubai playing in his second-successive Emirates Rugby Sevens tournament with Riyadh Falcons, having narrowly lost to Bahrain in the local-team finals the year before.
"The first game I ever played was amazing," Thamer said on Thursday at The Sevens, a brand-new rugby stadium 30 minutes' drive outside Dubai.
"I never liked people faking and falling down all the time in football. As soon as I played rugby, I was in love.
"When we played the finals in my first tournament last year, I didn't know all the rules but I did what the coach told me. It was beautiful."
Saudi core
A versatile back, Thamer can play centre, wing or fly-half, and is in the Falcons team alongside his brother Faris, a strong core of fellow Saudis, and ex-pats from England and South Africa.
Saudi Arabia do not play rugby at international level, but from what he's seen on his travels with the oval ball Thamer believes the nation could compete – in the Sevens or the full 15-a-side code.
"The problem is in Saudi Arabia that when you say you play rugby people say, 'oh, it's the same as American football'.
"But even so, more and more people are playing. We have about 50 Saudis at the club.
"My ambition is to play for a Saudi Arabia national team. We've got a lot of good Saudi players around. If we get them together, we could really do something."
Arabian knights
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| Try telling Thamer they aren't serious about rugby in Riyadh [AL JAZEERA] |
In the meantime, Thamer and his Riyadh teammates are looking forward to Friday's big match at The Sevens – a tie with all-Emirati team Al-Alhi Knights.
It's these matches that he believes have got Arabs fired up to play the sport, casting off the Dubai Sevens' outdated image as an ex-pat party in the sun.
Dubai are certainly taking their rugby seriously, with the sprawling 50,000-capacity venue a far cry from when a band of rugby-mad Brits turned up one night to find a line of telegraph poles had been erected across their pitch in Al Awir in 1968.
His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum donated a permanent home at the Exiles ground, with powerhouses like England and New Zealand mixing it with Gulf teams until the old ground's swansong last year.
Pitching in
"It is not just Dubai – every Middle East country is building pitches and goalposts," says Thamer.
"Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain – they're really taking it seriously.
"It's getting better every year because we see a lot of the Arab teams here at the Sevens and it creates rivalry and competition.
"Our team go into a match with the Emirati teams and you really want to play well, to represent your country.
"You imagine it's a World Cup, the Saudis against the Emiratis. But in a good way, a competitive way. We still like each other."
Island influence
Thamer's Samoan heritage comes out strongly in both his appearance and his approach to playing the game – a joyful dedication to speed, power and quick, skilful passing.
But he says the two cultures are similar, with his Saudi side just as prominent as the Samoan when he picks up a rugby ball.
"Islander people living here definitely feel a connection – you see someone you've never met before and you call him 'cousin'.
"Simon Tonga, who got us into rugby, is our uncle because he's an Islander and a family friend.
"But Saudis and Islanders have the same traditions. We don't turn our back to people. If you eat, the guest eats first.
"It's not the same – I am more Samoan with my mother, more Saudi with my father – but there is a common tradition."
On Friday, the heavy-hitters of the Sevens rock up to the competition, with the All Blacks defending their crown against 15 other teams including Australia, Argentina, the USA – and Samoa.
But up-and-coming Arab players like Thamer could one day step into their ranks, if the age-old barrier to progress doesn't step in first.
"The main problem for our players is money," he says.
"When you're a student, you can't afford to travel to Jeddah one week and Qatar the next. People have to miss out."
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