Abu Dhabi Harlequins have drawn a line under last week’s loss to capital city rivals Saracens and will be looking to prove a point in a top-of-the-table West Asia Championship clash against Doha.
The game of the weekend is effectively a title eliminator, with either side likely to be out of the reckoning for silverware should they lose. “We were well off key last week and it’s good we get to get back on the horse so soon,” said head coach Mike McFarlane.
“The lads are fired up and looking to prove a point.”
Doha head coach Aaron Palmer is fully aware of the significance of the game and said: “It’s a big game and we will be looking for a big performance to stay in touch with Exiles.”
Meanwhile, despite undefeated Exiles coming to town, Jebel Ali Dragons believe they can cause an upset after victory against Hurricanes last week and leading Harlequins for an hour before losing 36- 22 the previous week.
“Dragons are looking forward to the game and, having played well against Quins and pushed them hard, then beaten Canes with a good performance, we feel we’re ready to try and upset Exiles,” said Scottish string-puller Murray Strang.
Despite racking up a fifth straight win against Al Ain Amblers last week, prop Kristian Stinson says Exiles were far from happy.
“I’m expecting a fast paced game as Dragons seem to be gaining a bit of momentum recently and are a very different team to the one we beat earlier in the season,” said the Northern Irishman.
Elsewhere, Chris Gregory admits Hurricanes are hurting after recent results but insists they will front up in the face of what is sure to be a very physical encounter against Amblers.
Canes have lost their last two games to Jebel Ali Dragons and Abu Dhabi Harlequins by a combined margin of just eight points.
“The boys have had a couple of tough games and the results are hard to take, but we will be back,” said hooker Gregory.
Amblers head coach Andrew Rouvi is excited to welcome back inside centre Saki Naisau who will give the squad a lift.
