James Ham feels a 25-16 win against Bahrain could be the turning point in Dubai Hurricanes’ season.
Canes ambled through the UAE Premiership before going on to win the second-tier Plate competition at the Dubai Rugby Sevens, and head coach Ham stressed how their second win of the West Asia Championship campaign must be used as a platform.
“It’s massive for our season. A huge step. It’s what we wanted and with the performances, it’s been coming,” said Ham, who had seen his side battle valiantly to a 47-36 loss at Doha last week. “It could be the turning point for us, it certainly feels like that. Last week was tough against Doha, this week we were stronger again, and now there’s a buzz about the place.”
Daryl Johnson, Jamie Williams, Lindsay Fitzgerald and Darragh Duggan scored tries for Canes at The Sevens as they grabbed a bonus point and made it two wins from three games to put themselves firmly in the mix for the title.
“We got a bonus point and nothing for them which might matter at the end of the season,” added Ham, who was also happy to get one over younger brother Tom who is Bahrain’s player-coach.
“Mum was after a draw but they turned us over at the (Dubai Rugby) Sevens so that’s 1-1 for the season,” he added. Ham junior was frustrated with his side and believes they are good enough to be in contention for the championship.
“We’re disappointed. We definitely thought we could get a result here so it’s disappointing not to,” he said. “We’re building and I still don’t think we’ve learnt to win tight or win ugly. We’ve got to get in that winning mindset.
“With the strong teams competing now we know we’re good enough, so it’s got to be better. There’s a great atmosphere in the dressing room this year. We know we’ve got a strong squad, which is a big thing, it makes a big difference, and we’re keen to build that and keep going forward.”
