Former England captain Hartley on a mission after he is appointed as director of rugby at Dubai Sharks
Dylan Hartley has set his sights on helping Dubai Sharks join the top flight of UAE rugby after being appointed as the club’s director of rugby.
The Sharks, who finished sixth in the second tier last season, have announced the former England captain will be joining the club. The arrival of the 97-cap international, who captained England to the Six Nations grand slam in 2016, is a startling appointment for a team who were close to going out of existence four years ago due to a lack of playing numbers.
Since then, though, they have grown to become one of the bigger clubs in the country in terms of playing members at both senior men’s, women’s, and mini and youth team levels.
“Sharks are developing,” Hartley, 36, said. “We are aware of that, and we are realistic in terms of our ambition.
“I think every club should have ambition. I wouldn’t join an organisation unless we had ambition. We want to win. We want to do things and achieve, but there is a process to that.
“Long-term, if we think about playing Premiership rugby and competing there, that could be a realistic long-term goal for us.
“In terms of the short-term and where we focus now, it is on our youth. We have a great youth set up, with 350 kids growing to 400.
“Imagine if we could do such a good job with our kids and retain them, we could be playing on the big stage in a few years’ time because we are not looking for players, we have grown our own and are looking after our own.”
Hartley will be moving with his young family to Dubai, and dovetailing his role at the rugby club with Access Hire Middle East. The equipment rental company, who sponsor the Sharks, lent them the use of 12 solar-panelled floodlights so they could play in the evening at their home ground at Dubai Polo Club last season.
Hartley is aware his new team have ground to make up on the likes of Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes and the other larger Premiership clubs, but he says it can be done. “It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Hartley, who first started discussing the role when he coached Bali Legends at the Dubai Sevens at the end of 2021. “I have been involved with teams myself where you feel like it is going to get worse before it gets better.
“In this situation, we are not in a bad situation to start with. We are only going to go forwards and upwards as a club.
“That is how I see it, and that is how it has been pitched to me. I think it is truly achievable. If we look after our young players, we will have competitive men’s and women’s sides in a few years’ time.”
Charlie Taylor, the Sharks chairman, said Hartley will not be on the sidelines, coaching the first team, but will be adding his expertise to every aspect of the club. “He will get stuck in, deliver motivational chats for any of our teams, and will be a big presence and part of our community,” said Taylor.