The ex-Cardiff University head coach took the reins in July and has already made a lot of noise with the addition of several bright young stars from his homeland.
The Janabiyah-based side beat reigning champions Abu Dhabi Saracens in their opening West Asia Championship (WAC) game in January, eventually tailing off to finish sixth, but they are expected to improve again this season after a decent 2015/16 campaign.
“It was a really good start but we’re looking forward to playing Doha at home on the 16th which will be a much sterner test,” Tonkin said of his side’s landslide victory at Dubai Sports City.
He was full of praise for several new signings, including scrum-half Justin James, the former Llanelli player scoring a hat-trick.
He added: “The new players played really well. Justin James was really sharp. Wing Sean Ross made his debut and scored two tries, two centres Alastair Crombie and Adam Wallace had fantastic games, picking up a brace of tries each.
“We managed to give the whole squad a run-out so I was really pleased they kept the score to nil. The boys really focused on the basics, things we’ve worked on over the last two months. Structure, individual skill-sets, getting fitness in and putting it all into practice.”
Bahrain’s biggest test will come on September 16, a week before the new season starts, at home against rivals Doha, but Tonkin insisted on coming to Dubai so he and his players could acclimatise to travelling.
“I wanted to get the new guys used to the logistics, as well as myself,” he said. “Getting 30 guys on a plane, through customs. We wanted to get used to the timings, playing a night game in Dubai.
“Sharks weren’t the best opposition in terms of standard but were really committed and attacked us with intent. They might be in the second tier but they were fantastic hosts and we had a good time.”
