Jaen Botes predicts thrilling climax to UAE Premiership season

Matt Jones - Editor 23:16 01/11/2015
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  • Abu Dhabi Saracens skipper Jean Botes was delighted with a derby victory over Quins.

    Abu Dhabi Saracens captain Jaen Botes believes the Al Ghazal club can count on last season’s glorious West Asia Cup triumph as motivation to gain more silverware in 2015-16.

    Sarries started slowly in the previous campaign but came charging through to claim a coveted top four spot in the UAE Premiership, which qualified them for the Gulf Top 6.

    They then went from strength to strength, losing just once in the GT6 to claim a place in the West Asia Cup final, enjoying a memorable win over much-fancied Doha.

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    Botes and his team-mates have once again taken a while to get up and running this season, suffering two Premiership defeats to Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Dubai Exiles, but they inflicted a first defeat of the season on capital city rivals Quins on Thursday to blow open the title race. “For us it’s the same territory as last year,” Botes said reflecting on Thursday night’s thrilling 20-18 victory in the derby.

    “We started off not very well but came to terms with ourselves as a team towards the end of the season.”

    The win lifted Sarries up to 20 points, with Exiles’ win against Jebel Ali Dragons moving them onto 22, a point behind leaders Quins.

    “We’re just looking forward to taking it game by game now. It’s all about building as a team and going into the West Asia Championship as contenders for the title,” added the South African number eight.

    “The likes of Harlequins and Exiles are very sharp this year. All we have to do is take game by game and capitalise on what we do good. It’s very exciting times.”

    A 24-3 victory against their Abu Dhabi neighbours in the reverse fixture at Zayed Sports City on the opening day of the season saw reigning Premiership champions Quins embark on a five-game winning streak, playing a brand of expansive open rugby that looked unlikely to be stopped.

    Exiles came closest and really should have won but ended up losing 22-18 thanks to Barry Dwyer’s last ditch try with the final play of the game at ZSC two weeks ago, but Sarries finally stopped the juggernaut.

    All teams play one more game this Friday before the Premiership takes a four-month hiatus until March.

    “We halted their progress and it now seems a three-way battle for title,” said Botes.

    “There’s one game to go before Christmas and we’re looking to finish on a high before we go away for the break.

    “It’s always a great battle against Harlequins. They’re doing very well under Mike (McFarlane, new head coach) and Phil (Abraham) as captain. They’re very good in certain areas. I thought they were very sharp in the backs, but it went our way in the end.

    “I’m proud of the boys for turning up Thursday and giving it a good go. This result has blown it quite open for us, for many teams, so it will be interesting to see the next couple of games.”

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