Abu Dhabi Saracens regroup for rematch with rivals Doha

Matt Jones - Editor 09:08 14/01/2016
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  • FIghting back: Abu Dhabi Saracens.

    A rematch of last season’s West Asia Cup final might be exactly what the doctor ordered for reigning champions Abu Dhabi Saracens after they suffered a surprise defeat to Bahrain last week.

    Sarries welcome Doha to Al Ghazal on Friday, the first time the two sides have faced each other competitively since March’s epic final which Sarries won 26-20 in Doha’s backyard.

    That triumph seemed a distant memory last week as Sarries went down 13-12 to last season’s Gulf Top Six basement boys on their own turf in the West Asia Championship opener.

    Joint head coach Craig Nutt believed it was exactly the wake-up call they needed.

    “We were c*** and Bahrain did a job on us,” said the Welshman, bluntly. “We didn’t deserve to win. It would have been an injustice if we’d won. However, it was probably what we needed. It was probably a good thing and everyone is up for this weekend against Doha.

    “It’s almost the perfect game to have following the loss. The boys shouldn’t need motivating.”

    A second-successive defeat would deal Sarries’ chances of retaining their crown a massive blow. But Nutt is not daunted by the prospect of facing Doha.

    “As a club we never do anything easy,” added Nutt. “We can win every week and now we probably need to in order to have a chance of winning the West Asia Championship.

    “If we don’t have a reaction we’ll lose, so hopefully the boys will knuckle down and get the win.”

    Sarries’ hopes of success are bolstered by the return of South African duo, centre Garth van Niekerk and rampaging hooker Gio Fourie. But second row Lehan Koekemoer is still absent due to visa issues.

    Doha head coach Aaron Palmer was surprised by Bahrain’s victory, although he is not taking Sarries lightly.

    “It’s hard to say how to approach the game. Bahrain did one on them and I wasn’t expecting that but who says that Sarries weren’t rusty coming off the break or perhaps they were missing players,” said the New Zealander.

    “We will have to negate their forward pack on the small pitch and it will be a big test. We just have to concentrate on what we’re doing right and wrong.”

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