RugbyU: Devoted few nurture sport in football-mad Iraq It was his only job and sole means of funding his studies, but 20-year-old Mohammed Abbas left it for a chance to play on Iraq's first national rugby side. In a war-torn country where football has long been the dominant sport, Abbas has joined 19 other young Iraqis training for the Arab Rugby Sevens Championship in Jordan next month. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES