Sport360°view: Jeremy Manning & Andy Powell have been standout stars

[email protected] 08:13 30/10/2014
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  • Renaissance man: Abu Dhabi Harlequins’ Jeremy Manning.

     Friday’s UAE Premiership final pits the league’s two form sides against each other and arguably this season’s two out­standing performers – Abu Dhabi Harlequins full-back Jeremy Man­ning and Dubai Hurricanes fly-half Andy Powell.

    Quins’ player/coach Manning might heap praise on the form of his young players, who have, it must be said, been mightily impressive in Quins’ turnaround.

    It is their talismanic string-puller though who has galvanised Quins after two opening losses.

    That the defeats were by a com­bined deficit of three points will have made it all the more difficult for the men from the capital to turn things around.

    But the men from Zayed Sports City have become a force in recent weeks, swatting aside fierce Abu Dhabi rivals Saracens, Dubai Ex­iles and Xodus Wasps with ruthless precision.

    Manning has picked his team up off the floor like something akin to a punch-drunk boxer who has one more knock-out blow left in his fists. It’s easy to forget that he missed an easy penalty kick against Canes to win the league game. He might have easily withdrawn but the former Munster and Newcastle Falcons player is made of sterner stuff.

    He has joked about being the ‘old fart’ in a youthful back division, and revealed the players have given him the nickname #29 because of his age. But he has been the reason for his side’s resurgence. They should nickname him the renaissance man.

    Manning must have left his kick­ing boots in his kit-bag against Canes, because he has been nothing short of sensational since, nailing 15 conversions and seven penalties, plus bagging a try, in four games, to rank second in the league in points scored. Tomorrow (Friday), he will come up against the man above him in the individual points table.

    Powell, a fellow Kiwi, has perhaps been even more of a driving force behind Canes’ whirlwind journey to the final. Rugby is of course a 15-a-side game and Canes coach Ross Mills has a highly talented cast of supporting actors to call upon, chief among them influential skip­per Daniel Perry.

    But Powell has been a dominant presence, in the same mould as his fellow countryman. In Canes’ dis­mantling of city rivals Dubai Exiles in their final league game, Powell was involved in almost everything.

    He bagged 16 of Canes’ 46 points and was directly involved in five of his side’s seven tries, scoring one himself. It would be no exaggera­tion to say that he has at times won games on his own this season.

    That was particularly relevant against Quins, the fly-half scoring all of Canes’ 16 points, including a break-away 40 metre interception try that proved to be the turning point of the game.

    Come Friday night, one of the men from the land of the long white cloud will be on cloud nine but whatever happens both of them can be proud of what they have done for UAE rugby this season.

    Youngsters look ready to deliver

    Jeremy Manning has been the catalyst for Abu Dhabi Harlequins’ resurgence and subsequent jour­ney to the Premiership final, but he’s right to praise his young stars.

    It has taken a real team effort to pick themselves up from the dirt, dust themselves down and put a three-game winning run all the way to the final together, as well as a sprinkling of good fortune.

    However, it’s been a thing of real beauty to watch a band of young brothers stand up and be counted at a time of real trouble.

    Quins’ resurgence has been typi­fied by the young quartet of Matt Hawley, Adel Al Hendi, Iziq Foa’i and Macmillan Chiwawa.

    The foursome have been nothing short of awesome and have really risen to the challenge laid down by Manning and Quins’ coaching staff.

    Hawley, 18, is the Premiership’s top try scorer with five scores. He and Al Hendi have given the Quins’ back-line a lethal injection of pace, with the two wingers accounting for seven of Quins’ tries.

    Add in the brute force of power­house Foa’i and Chiwawa, who have two tries each, and the foursome have contributed 11 of Quins total haul of 17 tries. The real shame is that the foursome will be broken down into a trio on Friday, as Al Hendi has been chosen for national team duties at the Al Ain 7s.

    Only time will tell just how much of a bearing his absence will have on the destination of where the Pre­miership trophy heads to.

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