Louie Tonkin claims his Bahrain players restored pride to the jersey with a hugely impressive 2016/17 season, which culminated in defeat to rampant Abu Dhabi Harlequins in the West Asia Cup final on Friday.
Bahrain have lived in neighbours Doha’s shadow for many years, but following an improved showing 12 months ago, stormed into contention for silverware under the stewardship of Welshman Tonkin.
Bahrain finished third in the West Asia Premiership behind Quins and Doha and then beat Alex Natera’s men in Qatar two weeks ago to set up the final clash with Quins.
They pushed Mike McFarlane’s men mightily close at Quins’ Zayed Sports City home on Friday, eventually going down 31-25.
And while his players were left hurting following a bitter end to the campaign, the former Pontypool and Carmarthen Quins coach insists he feels nothing but “massive pride” for his charges.
“Obviously we’re disappointed to lose. You don’t come to the final to lose but I said to the boys, it’s not just about winning and losing, it’s the pride we’ve put back into the jersey this year,” said Tonkin, 34.
“The fact we’re even here is a great achievement and it’s just the start of the journey for us. I told the guys that.
“We were dominant for half an hour and then the last 10 (of the first half) we gave them momentum and they scored, which was a turning point. We showed in patches how good we can be and I just think we needed that for longer periods.
“It’s been the story of the season, exceptional in short periods. And we’ve done that and wiped the floor with teams. There’s been good games and bad games, but that needs to be the standard for longer periods. This is where we want to be now, fighting for these cups.”
And while the pain of defeat will linger, Tonkin is excited by the future for the club – having made a final despite only being in charge of the club for eight months.
“We’re only going to get better,” he added.
It’s the first year of our project. We want to keep that group together and get better. We’ve had a really abnormal season with injuries and the character of the boys has been exceptional.
“To score those two late tries at the end was fantastic. We were three scores down and scored 12 points in the final five minutes. It showed tremendous character and summed up our season. We’ll make that group a lot stronger next season.
“Hopefully next year we can be fighting for home draws. We’ve had two tough final games, away at Doha and at Quins, and we almost made it. But I’m happy for the boys, very proud and it’s just the start of the journey for us.
“I’m disappointed for the guys as they’re hurting but I’ve had a great time here so far, I’m loving it and it’s just the start.”