Abu Dhabi Harlequins head coach Jeremy Manning admitted he was surprised by the margin of his side’s 34-7 victory over Jebel Ali Dragons in the Gulf Top 6 match on Friday.
Chris Marshall scored his side’s two opening tries with Sam Bolger also contributing with a solo effort. Luke Stevenson had a superb outing with four conversions, a try, and two penalties in a match which saw Dragons’ Benjamin Blameri sent off for stamping.
Daniel Bell scored the only points for Jebel Ali Dragons courtesy of a try and a conversion. It was an impressive victory for Harlequins after they were beaten 24-16 in the opening match of the UAE Premiership – the last time the two sides met in September.
Speaking to Sport360° after the match at Zayed Sports City, Manning said: “We were not expecting to win with that big scoreline. We were not even expecting to win.
“A few bounces on the ball and the boys put their hands up, put on a good show and it was a good win.
“Both teams are very similar – they (Jebel Ali Dragons) are good at stealing the ball on the ground, which is what we worked on during the week to eliminate that. Maybe the finishing, the bounce of the ball all played a part (in the win).”
He added: “It was great. Especially coming after the Christmas break after you don’t know whether the boys have eaten too much Christmas pudding or not. It was really pleasing to see the boys knuckling down and it was a great game.
“Full credit to the Dragons, who are the top side in the country and a top side in the Gulf. The boys came through and there was a smile on their faces at the end of the match.”
The Abu Dhabi club got off to a perfect start with two successive tries by Marshall and aided by the conversions from Stevenson the team lead 14-0 early in the first half.
After scoring his team’s third try of the match, Stevenson kicked a penalty as Harlequins ended the first half with a comfortable and commanding 24-0 lead.
Manning’s side picked off where they left off and added another three points to their tally after another Stevenson penalty early in the second half, with the Dragons just under four converted tries behind.
Jebel Ali’s task of coming back into the match was made more difficult after Blameri was given his marching orders midway through the second half for stamping on a player.
Bell managed to find a way through the solid Harlequins’ defence and scored the seven points for his team.
With Harlequins coming out on top in the scrum in Jebel Ali Dragons’ half, Bolger scored his only try before Stevenson added two more points.
Manning said the victory will be a huge boost to his players’ confidence ahead their next match against Doha RFC in Qatar next Friday.
He said: “It will be a massive boost of confidence for the players. We are away to Doha RFC next weekend which isn’t going to be an easy game.
“We have to take wins. Whether it’s by one point or 50 points, you just got to get the wins coming .”
Debut defeat for Sarries
Abu Dhabi Saracens suffered defeat on their debut in the Gulf Top 6 competition, losing 35-20 to Bahrain. Nathan Ramsey, Ali Thompson and Dillon Gage crossed the line for the Saracens.
In Qatar, Doha enjoyed a commanding 32-9 victory over Dubai Hurricanes with four tries, all scored by different players.
