The West Asia Championship returns for its climactic round this weekend and Dubai Exiles director of rugby Jacques Benade believes his team’s maiden defeat in the competition 11 days ago could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Exiles could have claimed the cross-border crown on March 4 with victory against Abu Dhabi Harlequins, but Mike McFarlane’s men put on a scintillating display to win 32-24 and inflict a first defeat of the competition on Benade’s resurgent side.
The win saw Quins close the gap on the leaders to just a point, with the title to be decided on Friday.
South African Benade admitted it would have been amazing to remain undefeated, but he believes his side did well to go as long as they did without slipping up.
“I think it’s good for the league (that Harlequins won),” said Benade.
“This is the type of rugby you want to play and play against. More games like that (against Quins) lead to a better standard of rugby. It’s brilliant to get a test and good that we’re not strolling to the title. Harlequins have always been a good side and we all want to play that type of rugby.
“It would have been nice to go through the West Asia Championship undefeated, but with Doha, (Abu Dhabi) Saracens and Quins it was always going to be hard. We did well to go undefeated as long as we did. We’re still a good side and it’s important to remember that.”
The title is still in Exiles’ hands as they prepare to face Dubai rivals Hurricanes at The Sevens Stadium on Friday, while around 150km down the road in the capital, Quins will look to beat Bahrain while hoping James Ham’s side can do them a favour.
Exiles (29) are a point ahead of Quins (28), which is likely to prove crucial, although Benade insists his men must focus on simply winning and block everything else out.
“Let’s just keep focused and go and win that game against Hurricanes. It will be disappointing to fall over at the last hurdle,” he admitted.
“We’ve come a long way since the start of the season and the Quins game just shows now we have to work even harder. It’s not over and we know what we need to do. We just have to go out and do it.”
