JESS Arabian Ranches won the Under-16 Girls Cup at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens in London, adding another chapter to one of the standout stories in UAE school rugby.
The Dubai school beat Redborne Upper School 27-12 in the final, with Grace White scoring four tries and being named player of the tournament.
It was not a straightforward trip. Plans for the tour were affected by school closures in the UAE linked to the conflict in the region. Training was disrupted, term dates changed, and a final decision on travel was left until close to departure.
Those setbacks did little to slow them once the tournament started.
This group had already made a name for itself at Rosslyn Park. In 2024, they became the first overseas side to win their section. Last year, playing up an age group, they won the plate. This time they returned with the aim of winning the main prize in the U16 competition, and they did it.
“We’d be walking around and people would come and ask if we were the guys from Dubai”
Rosslyn Park, first held in 1937, is regarded as the biggest schools sevens event in the world. More than 1,000 teams took part this year, which made JESS’s run all the more notable.
Charlotte Battiston, the JESS captain, said the side had again left its mark in the UK.
“I’m really proud that people know us in the UK,” she said.
“We’d be walking around and people would come and ask if we were the guys from Dubai. They knew what we’ve achieved in the past years in the UK.
“It’s just really cool to see how we’ve been put on the international map as well because of our rugby.”
The result also underlined the depth of the programme at JESS. Much of this squad was part of the side that won the U14 title two years ago, while the school also defended that younger age-group crown last year with a different set of players.
Battiston said the players were aware of the expectations that came with that record, but did not let it distract them.
“We did feel a bit of pressure considering how our results have been before at the same tournament,” she said.
“We didn’t let that get to us and we weren’t getting too complacent, which is good. We fought in every single match, no matter the score, and were calm about it.”
Bradley Janes, head of girls rugby at JESS, said the achievement was about more than results alone.
“Winning a Rosslyn Park Sevens cup three years on the bounce is an incredible achievement in its own right and a testament to the girls’ talent and hard work,” he said.
“What makes me most proud of this group is how they represented themselves, their school and their families who support them every step of the way.”
For a school in Dubai to keep returning to one of the best-known events in youth rugby and keep winning says plenty about the standards being set there. It also says something about the place UAE girls rugby is beginning to occupy in the wider game.
