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It was jubilance in Janabiyah as Bahrain Rugby Football Club’s ‘red wall of sound’ did its job and cheered the playing heroes on to West Asia Cup glory and the team’s first major trophy in eight years.
The Bahrain boys prevailed 47-25 over Dubai Exiles to massive roars from the raucous home crowd, with a few tears of joy shed too.
Rugby club chairman Mike Cunningham was brimming with pride after the match, having seen the team go through many ups-and-downs since they claimed the Arabian Gulf Premiership in 2010.
He said: “It’s an emotional feeling and somewhat unbelievable. From a club point of view we are over the moon, it’s fantastic to be the West Asia Cup winners but even more amazing that we could bring that final to Bahrain and host it in front of a massive crowd.
“On a personal note, myself, like many others, have been supporting the team through thick-and-thin over the past decade or so, and trust me, there’s been some dark days, so we’re going to enjoy this moment and celebrate.
“We had a truly awesome atmosphere during the game. Our fans have been incredible throughout the season and on behalf of the rugby club, I honestly can’t thank them enough.”
It was an emotional farewell for some of the players too, with retiring veteran Rich Wilkinson bringing more than a decade of dedication to a close with silverware, while other team stalwarts Olly Luke and David Tui were playing their last game before leaving the island for pastures new.
The triumph is even more impressive considering star players Rich Muncaster and club captain Adam Wallace have spent much of the season sidelined by injury, meaning the rest of the team had to dig deep.
Cunningham continued: “The team has sweated blood for the cause. Not only that, they play entertaining, attacking rugby while doing so. The final was streamed live and we received so many comments about the quality; some were surprised that club level rugby in the Middle East could be so good. The lads have been great ambassadors for the sport as a whole, never mind the club.
“We’re hoping on the back of this success to increase the level of rugby in Bahrain. During the year, director of rugby Louie Tonkin has tested the waters by reaching out into schools. Our focus has been on the first and second squads, but we need to look at how we are going to replace the guys that we’re losing.
“Our goal for the future is to invest more in junior development, looking after the enthusiastic young players we’ve already got and getting more in. We need competition for the youngsters too, so hopefully other nations in the region have the same idea.”
The players themselves were elated after the hard-fought victory, with celebrations carrying on long into the night. Captain Wallace, who has missed most of the season with ligament injuries and has been focused on his formal role as a coach, couldn’t hide his delight at seeing his close friends and teammates lift the trophy.
He said: “It’s absolutely fantastic, undoubtedly one of the biggest days in the club’s history. We’ve been trying to build for the past five or six years, and rugby is rapidly getting stronger in the region.
“We got left behind a bit at the start, but since Louie has come in, he’s been amazing. The team was player-led before that but he’s instilled a huge amount of professionalism into us and he’s a phenomenal coach. We’re delighted he’s staying at least another year.
“It’s a huge result, and we’re extremely happy, but we’re not going to rest on our laurels. We know we’re not the finished article and although we’ve won the play-offs, we finished third in the domestic league so we want to win that next season and improve. Not many teams at all retain the cup, if ever, so it would be an honour to do that and we are very driven.
“On a personal note, I was absolutely gutted that I had to rule myself out of the final, but these things happen in rugby and it’s a very physical sport. I’ll be back on the field raring to go next season, although I must admit I’ve really enjoyed the coaching aspect this year too.”
Coach Tonkin is understood to be recharging his batteries in Sri Lanka.
