Xander van der Westhuizen will be among friends in UAE Premiership opener

The South African centre was one of the standout players at Dubai Exiles, but he switched to their city rivals Jebel Ali Dragons in the summer. Van der Westhuizen says there will be “no holding back” on Friday, writes Paul Radley.

Xander van der Westhuizen says there will be “no holding back” when he comes into conflict with some of his closest friends as he makes his debut for Jebel Ali Dragons on Friday.

The South African centre was one of the standout players at Dubai Exiles for the past two seasons, but he switched to their city rivals in the summer.

He will come face to face with his former teammates at the first opportunity, with his new side opening their UAE Premiership campaign on Exiles turf.

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“I am very excited,” Van der Westhuizen said ahead of his debut in the blue of the Dragons. “I’ll be playing against my friends, guys I still see pretty often.

“It was a big thing that they literally opened their home to me when I moved here. To be on the other side of that will be interesting, and I know no one will be holding back. They are going to be getting stuck in.”

A change in work circumstances, which means he will be travelling to Abu Dhabi up to three times per week, meant a move to the Dragons made more practical sense.

As a resident of the Marina area of Dubai, a journey to Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence is a closer option than The Sevens, where the Exiles play their home games, as well as being en route to Abu Dhabi.

“Having to go up to The Sevens for training, and getting back home at 10pm, it made it a long day,” he said.

“There have been the sort of numbers at training that I had not seen at Exiles. In the two seasons I spent there, I never saw the sort of numbers where you could have two teams against each other at training.”

Jacques Benade will be overseeing his first competitive match in charge of the Exiles, as the city’s oldest club seek to re-establish themselves among the region’s elite.

UAE Premiership fixtures

ThursdayFriday Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Hurricanes v Al Ain Amblers. Both matches kick off at 7pm at The Sevens, Dubai.

UAE Conference

• AD Harlequins II v AD Saracens II

• Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers II

• Dubai Exiles II v Jebel Ali Dragons II

• Xodus Wasps v Dubai Sharks

• Arabian Knights v Heartbeat Tigers

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