Sport360° UAE Premiership returns

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  • Taking the reins: Sean Crombie (l), Murray Strang (c) and Mike Lewis will steer Jebel Ali Dragons' title defence.

    Jebel Ali Dragons’ new-look coach­ing set-up are under no illusions that the treble-winners are the side all their rivals will want to shoot down when the Sport360° UAE Premiership kicks off this Friday.

    Dragons swept all before them for the second-successive campaign last term, victory in the domestic league followed by success in the Dubai Sevens and Gulf Top Six.

    Despite the triumphs, change swept across the Jebel Ali Shoot­ing Club Centre of Excellence this summer. Coach Ross Mills left by mutual consent after one trophy-laden season and UAE rugby stal­warts Sean Crombie and Murray Strang have stepped up into player/ coach roles alongside Mike Lewis.

    The trios’ credentials will be tested in competitive action for the first time with a trip to an Xodus Wasps-outfit determined to avoid another wooden spoon.

    Competition should be fierce throughout the division. Mills now heads Dubai Hurricanes, Abu Dhabi Harlequins dominated the Gulf Top Six league section, Abu Dhabi Saracens are to be guided by veteran Ali Thompson while Jan Venter provides solid leadership at Dubai Exiles.

    “From our success the last two seasons, everyone will be out to beat us,” said Strang, who has been one of leading backs in the Emir­ates during his six-year stay.

    “Hurricanes will have more moti­vation than most now, and they will be really fired up, but they’ve never needed any more of that in the past.

    “Harlequins come in having won 10 from 10 in the Gulf Top Six and were probably the best side in the region if you take away the final.

    “We are under no illusions they will come out firing for the season ahead.

    “We have seen building seasons for Wasps and Saracens, while the Exiles always provide a threat.

    “It is a small group only contain­ing six teams so if you lose one game you are up against it.

    “All the sides are capable of beat­ing us. Saracens showed that when they beat us at home last season.

    “That will be the challenge. When you are at a team like Dragons, pick­ing up all six of the last available trophies, when you lose one game people start saying it is a disaster and a crisis.

    “We need to do our best to turn up every week and prove why we are sitting at the top of the heap.”

    A new season brings fresh roles for Strang and hooker Crombie – who was named the first-ever senior player of the year at April’s inaugural UAE Rugby Annual Awards in Dubai.

    The former will guide the backs and the latter the forwards, with Lewis in a general position running training sessions for the first and second teams.

    Strang and Crombie provided a vocal presence on the training pitch under previous coach Mills.

    Their promotion mean they will now often be the sole voices, lead­ing a club where domination has become habitual.

    “We helped out a lot last year and now it has been made more official,” former Scotland sevens international Crombie said. “Every­one is really buying into the minor changes we have made.

    “We have asked the guys to be as committed as possible. The lads haven’t treated us very differently.

    “We can only control the control­lables. We know other teams want to pick us off and play catch-up.

    “Hopefully, we have strength­ened what was already there. All we are trying to do is fine-tune.”

    Opponents Wasps have cut no corners as they attempt to herald a new era at 7he Sevens.

    Head coach Darrell McEwen will be ably assisted by director of rugby Martin Southern, a leading figure in the region from his time with the now defunct Arabian Gulf RFU.

    The desire to improve all ar­eas has extended into the choice of a new training venue in Umm Suqeim, meaning they are the only Premiership club training within Dubai’s city limits.

    “We have several new recruits as we are looking to close the gap on the other five teams in the divi­sion,” Southern said. “Last year’s last-placed finish did not sit well, so we have recruited a new coaching team and a number of new players to address this.

    “We hope our new elite training hub will give us an edge in player commitment and recruitment being based so centrally.”

    All Premiership matches will be played on successive Fridays at 19:00, the last round coming on October 24 a week prior to the deciding Premiership Final.

    The top-four spots will progress to the elite Gulf Top Six, with the two remaining places taken by Gulf Premiership teams.

    The most intriguing opening-weekend clash sees Quins host Canes at Zayed Sports City, while Saracens will hope for a winning start when they host Exiles at Al Ghazal. 

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