Hurricanes v Dragons: Sleeping giants of UAE rugby ready to contest Premiership title

Two of Dubai rugby’s sleeping giants will vie for the UAE Premiership title on Saturday when Dubai Hurricanes face Jebel Ali Dragons in the final in Al Ain.

Final: Dubai Hurricanes v Jebel Ali Dragons
Saturday, 8.15pm, Al Ain Amblers

Semi-final results
Dubai Exiles 20-26 Dubai Hurricanes
Dubai Tigers 32-43 Jebel Ali Dragons

Table
1 Dubai Tigers, 33 points
2 Dubai Exiles, 24 points
3 Dubai Hurricanes, 18 points
4 Jebel Ali Dragons, 14 points
5 Abu Dhabi Harlequins, 14 points

Beyond their own clubs, neither side was widely anticipated to reach this point. They finished third and fourth respectively in the table, and had semi-finals last weekend against sides who had finished the regular season with significant points advantages over them.

And yet each made it through. A week after setting the seal on a West Asia Premiership and Dubai Sevens title double, Dubai Tigers were stunned at home by the Dragons.

“Nobody else was expecting much from us, but internally, we were,” Matt Richards, the Dragons coach, said. “We were pretty confident. The last time we had played them they had beaten us, but it was a turning point in our season.

“They beat us in the last five minutes, and we had proved to ourselves that we could mix it with the top teams. Before that we were scraping wins, or losing by one score in the last five minutes, rather than really nailing a performance.

“That game showed the lads they can mix it with the best players. You don’t win the league in the first week of the season, and we have been building to the end. Hopefully we have one more level we can go up in the last game.”

At the same time as the Dragons were upsetting the Tigers, perennial finalists Dubai Exiles lost their grip on the UAE Premiership crown