Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain Rugby Club put in a brave performance in front of a buoyant home crowd to beat in-form Dubai Exiles 19-11 and put them in a fantastic position for a tilt at the West Asia Premiership title, writes Kristian Harrison.
A loss would have put the boys in red too far behind the leaders of the pack, and the do-or-die attitude showed in abundance from the first whistle where Bahrain flew into everything for 80 minutes.
Exiles, being the much bigger side, came to Bahrain with a clear game plan: to play the corners, use their big pack to scrum and maul and use their impressive 10 Durandt Gerber to kick the points.
However, Bahrain defended valiantly and tries from Iwan Phillips and Rhys Fitzgerald, plus points from the boot of Luke Radley, saw them home. Crucially, Bahrain denied their rivals a losing bonus point, which they would have got should they have lost by fewer than seven points.
Bahrain are now only four points off the top of the league with three rounds to go. Director of rugby Louie Tonkin has urged his team to fight for a home draw in the semi-final of the West Asia Cup, which would require a top-two finish.
Tonkin said: “We really needed the win to keep the championship hopes alive. We’re still fighting and doing everything in our power to try and win the league, and failing that, secure a home draw for the subsequent play-offs.
“We showed fantastic character to hold on to the win. In the first half we were fantastic, but struggled a little in the second so it was a relief for the final whistle to go.
“Dubai Hurricanes visit next week, so it’s another crucial home game for us. Thankfully, our injury list is almost entirely clean now so I have some selection headaches … but that’s a good thing for once!
“We’re ready for the final push. Our talented lads coupled with our amazing fans means we have a lot of belief.”
Bahrain play Dubai Hurricanes at 5pm on Friday at the rugby club in Janabiya.
