All to play for as Abu Dhabi Saracens meet Doha in Gulf Top Six

Matt Jones - Editor 07:48 05/03/2015
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  • Clean slate to defend: Abu Dhabi Saracens are undefeated in the Gulf Top Six this season and will be keen to extend that winning streak.

    They are both already through to the West Asia Cup final, but there is still so much on the line as the Gulf Top Six’s best two sides meet this Friday.

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    Abu Dhabi Saracens lead Doha by five points but a win for the home side this weekend will leave the mantle of GT6 winners and a venue for the final up for grabs.

    There are also the small matters of Sarries’ 100 per cent record to defend, while Aaron Palmer’s Doha will be keen for payback after their 39-15 defeat at Al Ghazal five weeks ago.

    Sarries’ South African stars Jaen Botes and Gio Fourie are “loving every minute” of their current run.

     “It should be a good game to watch as both teams have a lot to play for,” said Botes, Sarries’ skip­per.

    “We are staying humble and tak­ing it game by game. We know it will be though up there, it’s never nice to play away but the boys are well up for it and hope to secure the home final. I hope and have faith in the boys to bring the final here to Abu Dhabi.

    Both Botes and pocket dynamo hooker Fourie are in contention for the UAE Rugby Annual Awards’ Player of the Season accolade this season.

    “The guys are looking forward to the game. It’s going to be special,” said Fourie.

    “There is a great vibe at the club at the moment and training has been great this week because of this game. This is a big one and will decide where the final will be held.”

    Palmer played down talk of revenge, but insists his team are hungry for another crack at Sarries.

    “We are looking forward to a top-of-the-table fixture – it’s where we get to test ourselves against the unbeaten team in the competition,” said the New Zealander.

    “No revenge required, just a win and looking to achieve the goals this team set for themselves at the start of the season.

    “We’ll be happy to host them at home as being on the road every second week has its issues, so it will be good to be in front of our home crowd and on our pitch.

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