DUBAI // Ian Overton and Nick Taylor scored two tries apiece as Jebel Ali Dragons retained their tentative grip on their status as West Asia’s No 1 side by beating Doha 40-20.
While their perennial rivals Abu Dhabi Harlequins have been racing clear at the top of the Gulf Top Six division, the defending champions have stuttered alarmingly of late.
Successive defeats to Quins and then Bahrain last week mean the Dragons are in serious danger of missing out on the end-of-season final against the irresistible side from the capital.
However, they bounced back well with a resounding win over the side from Qatar who are one of their rivals for the second berth in the final.
Euan Sinclair added the other try, while Murray Strang provided 15 points from the kicking tee in the win at Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence.
“We are just happy to be back to winning ways and be in with a chance of making that final,” said Taif Al Delamie, the Dragons captain. “We are taking each game as it comes and know we face a tough time away against a much improved Saracens side next week.
“What is in our favour is we have started to get some of our injured players back now.”
In tier two of domestic competition, Dubai Hurricanes’ second string collected the UAE Conference title with a 23-17 win over Al Ain Amblers in the final in the Garden City.
The Hurricanes senior side may have been out of sorts for much of the Gulf Top Six campaign, but their club colleagues banked a trophy at the first opportunity.
Chris Burch, the veteran UAE international centre, and Paul Hindshaw each crossed for tries, while fly-half Alan Foster supplied the remaining 13 points with the boot.
“It is fantastic to get a trophy for the club,” said Ian Greenhough, the Hurricanes captain who played on after breaking his nose in the fifth minute of the game. “It is quite an intimidating atmosphere down in Al Ain as they had around 200 or so supporters who were quite vocal.”
The victory was hard earned by a side who had lost the corresponding league fixture 45-13 a few weeks earlier.
“We knew Al Ain were a quality side who like to play a fast flowing game and they can be a difficult side to play against because of it,” Greenhough said. “We had a pretty bad day at the office when we came down here last. We knew we were better than that and could rely on a strong line out, and if we played it tight and made our tackles we could win.
“We have a lot of players who have played together for a while and players who have a lot of nous. That is where we are strong and probably what decided the game for us.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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