After a lengthy break, the EAFL returns for the second half of the season, giving Al Ain Desert Foxes an opportunity for a fresh start.
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“The first half of the season didn’t go as well as I had planned,” Al Ain coach Darrell Magee said.
As the only team without a win, the Desert Foxes have had little success when they’ve stepped onto the field, which is why they welcomed the nearly two-month break.
Rather than just resting and enjoying the holidays, the players were eager to improve and come prepared for a stretch run in 2015.
“The first three weeks, we worked every week,” Magee said. “The guys came to me and said, ‘hey coach Magee, we really don’t want to take a whole lot of time off and want to keep working’. So we did.
“I think they’re really into it and really seeing what I see now. We have the talent, we just have to put in the work.
“We feel it’s a completely new season for us. Guys are pretty excited about it. I think you’re going to see a new and different Desert Foxes team come this Friday.”
Getting on track will be no easy feat, however, as they meet the Dubai Stallions at Al Ain Rugby club when the league resumes tomorrow (Friday).
The Stallions ended the first half of their campaign on a high note, dispatching their Dubai rivals, the Barracudas, for their second straight shutout victory.
Their first shutout came at the expense of the Desert Foxes, who suffered a 43-0 thrashing in the most lopsided result of the year.
Al Ain began that game with an ominous mistake when a bad snap rolled through the back of the end zone for a safety. Dubai then scored six touchdowns in a runaway.
This time around though, Magee feels his team is more up for the challenge. “I fully expect to come out and give them a much better game,” he said. “I think we really match-up with them a lot better now and I think they’re going to be quite surprised.”
While Al Ain were happy to get time during the winter break to practice, the layoff came at an unfortunate time for the Stallions.
Dubai were on a roll following a difficult start to their season when they were held winless through the first two weeks. That momentum came to a screeching halt.
“A break in the middle of the season is like the worst thing you can have,” Stallions coach Anthony Daniels said.
Nonetheless, Daniels is pleased with how far his team have come, especially on offence where they lost their starting quarterback after one game and made a switch at the position following game two.
Now, signal-caller Chris Wentzel has not only stabilised the unit, but made it a legitimate threat and Daniels believes the passing game is only at “80 per cent” of where it can be.
