Dubai Hurricanes second XV’s UAE Conference final victory was built on the intensity of their preparation, according to the men who helped achieve it.
That word ‘intensity’ was not far from anyone’s lips as they dissected exactly how the Canes second string got the better of an Al Ain Amblers side who had beaten them 45-13 just four weeks previously.
According to second-row Mark Weissenborn that result had been a “rude awakening” for the Dubai side and their 23-17 victory was built on tries from Chris Burch and Paul Hindshaw, and 13 points from the boot of fly-half Alan Foster.
Captain Ian Greenhough told Sport360°: “I’m really proud of the way we bounced back from that performance after losing to them so heavily. I’d never been in a dressing room like it to be honest before the game, with the noise and the feeling that was in there.
“We trained hard on the Monday and Wednesday and had a real focus on defence and having a tight game.
“We took passing shields down and we had quite a bit of contact in the warm-up which isn’t something we normally do but we wanted to make sure we were switched on and knew what was coming at us.”
Try-scorer Burch added: “Our intensity was completely different. We said before the game that if we wanted to win this game we had to blow them off the park and we came out with all guns firing which I think stunned them a bit.”
The preparation certainly paid off for the visitors as two converted tries early in the second half put them in control of proceedings and helped them build a 23-10 lead.
However, after they had spurned a penalty opportunity to extend their lead to 16 points, and Al Ain had hit back with a second try of their own, the Hurricanes were grateful for an excellent saving tackle from full-back Steve Smith.
The veteran UAE international was playing his final game for the seconds before he heads back to the UK over the summer.
“Right up until the final whistle, it was hard work. The game wasn’t won,” Hurricanes seconds coach Robbie Cameron, who had been to scout Al Ain in Sharjah the week before, said.
“I think you’ve got to give respect to Al Ain because they didn’t give up.”
It is now hoped that the victory can help lift the club, with the Hurricanes first team looking to finish their Gulf Top Six campaign with two wins that could yet see them sneak into next month’s grand final.
Cameron, who expects six or seven of his players to be in contention for the first-team’s weekend trip to Abu Dhabi Harlequins, added: “I’ve told the players training is not over, games are not over, so let’s get up to support the firsts.”
