Two red cards, five tries and a ferocious fight between two heavyweights – this was UAE club rugby at its finest.
Dubai Exiles emerged from the Dragons’ lair having slain Jebel Ali 31-20 to set up an encounter with Bahrain in next week’s West Asia Cup final after the two teams considered the underdog triumphed in Friday’s semi-finals.
Both teams thundered into each other from the off at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence with the brute force on both teams making for a feisty game which boiled over on several occasions, including in the closing minutes when Exiles’ UAE international Jaen Botes and Dragons’ flying Fijian Saki Naisau were red carded following a violent altercation.
Amid a second half where hotheads ruled the day, Durandt Gerber’s ice cold temperament and near faultless goal-kicking saw Exiles prevail and reach the final, having finished fourth in the West Asia Premiership, behind champions Dragons.
Exiles are lauded for their impressive physicality and it was on display when they opened the scoring against the run of play after four minutes. Dragons had started brightly but conceded a penalty and after Gerber kicked for the corner, former Dragons hooker Gio Fourie crashed over against his old side following the lineout drive.
Dragons roared right back and thought they were level three minutes later when a delightfully delayed Naisau pass sent Matt Richards over, but the try was called back for a forward pass.
It mattered little as Dragons did regain parity shortly after when James Love’s beautiful reverse pass sent Niko Volavola into space. The Fijian is a devastating talent and finished off in style, Love tying the scores.
Matt Richards (r) had an eventful day against his former side. Pic: Adriaan Fourie.
Gerber and Love exchanged penalties as little ground was given by either side. Jacques Benade’s men did edge ahead at the break thanks to their gigantic pack. Another kick to the corner, another lineout drive. Botes this time the grateful recipient at the back as he powered over as Exiles led 17-10.
He went from saint to sinner just four minutes after the restart though when he was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle. The raucous home crowd sensed a chance to get back in the game and they duly were, just a minute later.
Exiles initially thought they had escaped the danger when they stole a lineout and cleared their lines. But Volavola kicked and retrieved his own punt to send Richards scurrying through to score against his old club, with Love again leveling things up.
Despite being a man down, Exiles dug deep and showed their mettle when they took the lead for a third time with Botes in the bin. This time it was their excellent running rugby which yielded a score.
The excellent Justin Walsh, Rory Arnold, James Crossley and Matt Mills all made ground as the visitors meandered into Dragons’ territory. And just as the hosts thought they had stemmed the tide, Fourie found a gap and ploughed over for his second score.
Gerber missed a difficult conversion and then a penalty but potted his next shot at goal as errors began to creep into Dragons’ game. The gap was eight but Love bisected the uprights to leave his side trailing at 25-20 with 10 minutes remaining.
Then came the turning point. A swinging arm from a Dragons player on an Exiles opponent went unnoticed by the referee. A fired up Botes took matters into his own hands and pushed a player in blue to the ground, before being hit by a Naisau punch.
The Fijian was sent off while Botes followed after being shown a second yellow for retaliation.
Both sets of supporters were incensed but amid all the hostility, Gerber remained the coolest player on the pitch – keeping his nerve to add two more penalties as Exiles kept Dragons at bay, firing themselves into next week’s final, with a treble of West Asia Cup, UAE Premiership and Dubai Sevens very much in their thoughts.
It is now three wins in a row over Dragons for Exiles following triumph at the Sevens in December, a 35-15 WAP win earlier this year and now this result.
And they are a side who bring the best out of Exiles, said their head coach Benade.
Dubai Exiles head coach Jacques Benade.
“Dragons always bring the best out of us. They were favourites in the Sevens final and the two recent games in the league and today,” said the South African.
“The boys always want to play rugby. It’s the same against Quins. It doesn’t matter what players teams have out on the field, everyone will lift their games.
“They have a lot of good players, individual players who can create something from nothing and they’re playing a good brand of rugby, so to come here and win again, the boys were outstanding.”
Of the game, he added: “It had everything. Both teams wanted to win and both went out there from the start and got very physical. It’s a local derby and it’s a game, whether a friendly, league, semi-final or final, where both teams will always want to win.”
Dragons skipper Ross Samson was one of many players from both teams left wounded following a thrillingly physical encounter and the Scotsman had little complaint with the result.
Dragons’ Matty Henry powers through the Exiles midfield. Pic: Adriaan Fourie.
“We made too many mistakes and they’re a quality team,” said the Dragons’ scrum-half.
“They’ve played better the last two times they’ve played us so we don’t have any issues getting beat by a better team on the day.
“We said before the game that if they get penalties they’ll kick to the corner and drive from the lineout and they did that and you can’t win a game if you keep giving penalties away. No gripes, get the feet up now and time for the off-season.”
As Exiles were edging home against Dragons, Bahrain turned over Premiership runners-up Abu Dhabi Harlequins in the UAE capital, winning by a similarly narrow margin of 26-21.
